Flying with the Chief

Since my last post, another couple of lessons had been cancelled due to weather - something that is getting more and more common as winter approaches. Happily though, although the weather at home was bordering on dismal the airfield was reporting nice conditions so yesterday I had my first flying lesson in 3 weeks or thereabouts.

Turns out that this was my best flying lesson to date, despite a scare on the runway - more on that later. I was flying with the club's CFI (chief flying instructor) who as it happens is one of the most pleasant people you could ever hope to meet and a fantastic instructor. I had my uncle and aunt along to see the club and they were invited to sit in the back seats for the flight - a nice surprise for them. David, the CFI, told me to go out and preflight G-UFCI whilst he did the flight authoisation paperwork. I got my relatives into the back seat and did my walkaround inspection - the water coming off the plane after a recent rain shower as I lowered the flaps and climbed up on it to check the fuel soaked my jeans and made me glad I was wearing a waterproof jacket for the flight.

After about 5 minutes David came down from the clubhouse and shortly after we hit our first snag: one of the seatbelts in the back of the plane had come apart and we had to re-assemble it. By the time it was secure and the passengers were back in the cramped rear seats of the C172 we were running about 30 minutes late and I was seeing my flight time for the day dwindle (or so I thought).

After running through the checklists and starting the engine, I keyed my mic and announced over the radio: "Newtownards radio, Scrabo 01 on the ramp, requesting airfield information". They came back telling us that the QNH (local barometric pressure setting) was 1012mb and runway 22 was in use. I read this back and commenced the taxi to runway 22. On the way there we swung the plane into the wind to commence the routine engine power checks. These passed without incident, we crossed the hold short line and I announced, "Scrabo 01 lining up."

Next came the second snag of the flight, and it was a biggie that really gave me a scare. As we lined up on the runway, I reduced the power and hit the brakes to stop the plane. As I reduced the throttle to idle though, the engine cut out. With numerous red and yellow messages coming up on my PFD and warning buzzers sounding in my headset we were suddenly left without a source of forward thrust. The CFI and I exchanged worried glances. A dozen "What if...s" were running through my head - like "What if I had idled the power in the air?" (as we often do in order to glide down during the descent). I'm sure it was just because the engine was cold (this being the plane's first flight of the day) but it was still a bit disconcerting. Miraculously, the engine restarted and I was able to take off - although I was careful not to reduce the throttle below 1000rpm after that.

As we climbed out from the airfield, I was on the radio again: "Newtownards radio, Scrabo 01 departing to the south-east, calling Belfast now, see ya." I would be doing the radio for the whole flight - something I hadn't done before and was a little nervous about. Things were progressing well however. I called Belfast, who told me to stand by. After he had time to take my call, I rattled off "Belfast Approach, Scrabo 01, type Cessna 172, 4 persons on board, flying down the peninsula not above 3000." A very stressed-sounding controller came back to me with details of our Flight Information Service and gave me an update on the pressure setting: still 1012mb. There were apparently about 6 aircraft over the Ards peninsula at that time so we were going to have to be careful. I dutifully acknowledged that.

About 4 minutes later we were levelling off at 3000 feet, avoiding low cloud and enjoying the view. David was very good at including the rear-seat passengers in the flight - pointing out landmarks and he would later direct me on a sightseeing tour for their enjoyment! There are some really interesting things to see over the Peninsula, one of the many reasons that I love where I fly. I'd fly with this guy every time if I could.

After about 45 minutes in the air David was giving me directions to get back to the airfield. By the time I got back to the airfield, I would have had one full hour in the air despite being about 40 minutes late taking off - fantastic! We ran into some rain on the journey north to the airfield, which made visibility a bit of a pain but I liked the added challenge. I called Belfast again. "Belfast Approach, Scrabo 01 passing Greyabbey at altitude 1800 feet, request a change back to the Newtownards frequency." They came back with "Scrabo 01, freecall Newtownards 128 decimal 3." After acknowleding this I pressed the little button in the top-right corner of my PFD screen to change back to the airfield frequency, where I repeated our position and stated our intentions of a full stop landing for the benefit of other aircraft in the vicinity.

The approach and landing went smoothly although we did have a bit of trouble getting a microlight that had just departed the field in sight. I taxiied the plane back the apron and we ran through the after landing/shutdown checklists. During the debriefing David congratulated me on my flying and my radio work, telling me he likes to get the student to do all the radio, whereas other instructors find it easier to do a bit themselves. I thanked him for a wonderful lesson and sightseeing tour. It will be difficult to top this lesson in terms of sheer enjoyment. Hopefully I'll get to try and do that in November.

Thanks for reading.

Morning Mist

After my previous lesson was cancelled, it was nice - in a bleary-eyed, drowsy sort of way - to rise at 7am on a Saturday for another early flight. I was down at the airfield well before my 9am slot so I got to see them preparing for the day's operations, which was nice. I met up with Sam, the same instructor as last time, who sent me off to prepare Charlie Juliet for the day's flying. I love doing the preflight checks. The photo (admittedly too dark, mobile phone cameras make the 'pit of the C172 look really dark for some reason) shows the PFD (primary flight display) of the glass cockpit Cessna after I had turned on the Avionics buses to check the screen operation and check the warning annuciations on the PFD. Apart from this pre-flight ritual we don't normally have the avionics on without the engine running - they would run the battery down otherwise.

For some reason I didn't fly as well as I had last time - a combination of a late night and having a seat which felt a bit too low and far back. I don't think I adjusted it properly on the ground. We couldn't do the climbing/turning excercises Sam had been hoping to go over due to the lack of a horizon outside, as it was still obscured in the morning mist. As much as I love these early morning lessons, if they are going to give me a foggy horizon come Autumn then I will have to try and opt for something a bit later. (that's right, despite the thousands of pounds' worth of electronic magic in the cockpit, PPL training flights are still flown VFR (visual flight rules), so for the purposes of training we have to use the external horizon!). I did a few climbs and descents - it was particularly bumpy down at around 500ft although above 1000ft it was pretty smooth, apart from a 20kt crosswind. We just flew down the peninsula a bit then came back up - no point in spending the money on the full hour I had booked up there when we couldn't do the lesson. Still, it was nice to get my feet off the ground and get a bit more practice - and 0.5 hours in the logbook is better than nothing!

On the upside, my next lesson is at 11.45am next Saturday - so hopefully the morning mist will have cleared by then (if the weather is flyable at all - fingers crossed!). Watch this space.

Good to be back

The view that greeted me when I got up. I'd be flying today!

After hardly being able to sleep I was up at 0630 this morning for my first lesson since April. My lesson booked for 9am, we were the first people at the flying club when we arrived shortly after 0830, apart from one maintenance guy. I could see him pulling the club Cessna 172s out of their hangar and giving them a quick wash. Which one of them would I be flying?

I met my instructor, Sam, shortly after 9am. I told him that I hadn't had a lesson since April but my last couple had been in the G1000 equipped planes. He told me he would take me up in one of them and we'd just go over some general handling in case I had forgotten anything. He tossed me the keys and I went out on my own to preflight the aircraft (this was the first flight of the day for G-UFCJ so it got the full walkaround with fuel and oil checks) whilst Sam took care of the paperwork that comes with any flight.

I took my time on the walkaround. I'd done it before but without the fuel and oil checks so I waited for the instructor to arrive before doing those. With clambering over the wing complete, I got settled into my seat. Oops - no headset. I raced back to the clubhouse to pick one up. First and last time I'll make that mistake!

With the external checks complete and all essential pieces of equipment now on my person, we went through the checklists leading to an uneventful startup. I couldn't get over how nice the weather was in comparison to the rest of the summer - it has been an absolute washout with serious flooding just last weekend. We taxiied to the runway and did the normal power checks. Not a breath of wind. By 0930 we were rolling down the runway and for the first time in what seemed like years I was airborne.

Assuming I would be a bit rusty after such a long time without flying we agreed to do some general handling excercises and go over anything I seemed to be having trouble with. To both of our surprise I was very proficient - perhaps the enthusiasm did me good. Around half an hour later we had gone over everything I did in my first few lessons - climbing, turning, trimming, straight and level, keeping balance in turns, climbing/descending at a certain speed, and the effect of power changes and flaps - and we were descending from 3000ft to 1000ft in order to join the approach pattern from Newtownards. The view throughout the flight had been brilliant - from the swanky houses in the Portaferry area to community fun days with brightly coloured bouncy castles. One thing I love about where I fly is the astounding amount of visual references that not only make VFR flying easier but also a lot more enjoyable - from tiny islands to shipwrecks to forests to fields to disused airstrips to medieval castles - the Ards Peninsula has it all.

We landed then waited for what seemed like an eternity as all sorts of aircraft used the runway - some were really well-kept private planes with really lucky owners! The weather has been so bad all summer, so when the good weather finally came round (if only for a morning, it's about to rain now) neither me or Sam were surprised to see the airfield exceptionally busy.

With the post-flight checklists completed we got back to the clubhouse where the rest of the paperwork - ie the bill - was completed. I gave back the keys and was complimented on my flying. I said I'd be back sooner rather than later! I walked out of that clubhouse with another 0.7 hours under my belt and a big grin on my face.

Next lesson is on September 13th. Thanks for reading! Questions and comments welcome.

Back again...sorry.

I know I haven't posted in a while despite promises of flying. Truth is, I still haven't been up since April! The gods of weather and money have been conspiring against me for 4 months now to keep me rooted firmly on the ground.

Without wishing to jinx things, I do have a lesson booked for 9am tomorrow morning, and the weather does seem to be holding up. With a bit of luck in 24 hours I should have another hour in my (by now dusty) logbook and a big smile on my face, with my latest fix feeding my flying addiction.

It's hard to get back into the blogging now but if I have any readers left (which I seriously doubt) the flying is starting up once again and unless the weather has other ideas I should have 2 more lessons in September.

Once again, sorry for not posting in a while and for anyone who's stuck with the blog this long without a decent post, thank you!

Summertime

School's done for another year. Good grief that was quick. Next year, the stress of GCSE exams so better enjoy these last 2 months of freedom while I can...

I haven't been flying since my G1000 sim/fly session in April, for various reasons - mostly financial. 3 months later, I finally have new lessons booked for this Saturday (5th July) and Saturday fortnight (19th July, one day after my 16th birthday). Needless to say my hopes of a solo flight this summer are shot to pieces but I guess we don't always get what we want. At least I should have 2 more hours in the logbook by the end of the month.

The sun shone for weeks on end through May and June and I'm starting to think that Northern Ireland has had as much summer as it's going to get for this year. En ce moment, Metcheck is forecasting good weather for the coming Saturday - although weather forecasts can turn in an instant. It'll be nice to get some good weather whilst I regain a feel for the little Cessna.

My other goals for the summer? Mostly to do with getting a job. I've tried every aviation organisation in Belfast with no success. It'll be nice having a steady source of income if I do get one, no matter what I end up doing.

Normal service should be resumed this Saturday. If you're still reading this after the long lull, thank you. I mean that.


Dave

Ah, yes: the environment

Flying has been nonexistent lately due to a lack of funds. Anyone who lives in the UK will know that the economy is in trouble and that tax, electricity and fuel bills are all rising rapidly, the latter two by 30% per year. It's ridiculous. I have yet to find out if the rise in fuel costs will affect the price of flying lessons. The tax issue is what really annoys me though: without wanting to rant, how the government thinks that it is reasonable to send taxes on fuel and cars through to roof to encourage us to use public transport and yet still let NI's only bus company to charge me about £2.50 ($5) for a return journey to the City Centre (20 minutes away) and a truly disgraceful £9 ($18) for a return trip to Belfast International Airport (30 minutes away) is completely beyond me. Most likely they don't think it is reasonable but do it anyway for fear of upsetting Greenpeace.

I'm all for protecting the environment, the lengths some people will go to to make a profit are disturbing (for example various activities in the Amazon Rainforest), but arguably environmental pressure groups would be better off devoting their considerable resources to the research of alternative fuels, or picketing the head offices of Translink Northern Ireland to get the fares down, or something - anything but climbing on to the fuselages of planes at Heathrow Airport (which they seem to have done with relative impunity) or, and this is what really baffles me, protesting against the building of a third runway at Heathrow. I'm sure you have heard of Heathrow, one of the busiest airports in the world, which therefore has pretty long queues of planes waiting to take off. Hasn't it struck anyone that building a third runway would mean that there are less planes sitting on a taxiway with their engines on doing nothing but burning expensive fuel and emitting all kinds of nasties into the atmosphere instead of doing the useful and necessary work of transporting people from A to B in safety and comfort? But no, this sensible measure might destroy a field or two so Heathrow security must spend hours prising people off the tailfins of A320s...

This post was actually supposed to be about my ongoing search for a job to do with aviation to fund both my flying and life in general but that will have to wait because I seem to have gone on for a bit. Sorry. I'd like to hear your thoughts - from both sides of the fence - on the issues above.

Withdrawl Symptoms

I know I only really post when I've been flying, but I have some free time today so stand by for an update...

I'd love to go flying today (mind you I'd love to go flying any day) - the weather is beautiful with sun, few clouds and only the slightest hint of wind. Still, I knew I'd go a few weeks at least without flying so just have to sit it out.

My Duke of Edinburgh expedition in the beautiful Mourne Mountains is next weekend. I've been busy packing and worrying about missing something. I hope the weather is as nice as it has been this weekend, although rain is forecast. I will have another look over our route to check if there are any areas prone to becoming marshy on the 50km hike....if there are it'll give me something else to worry about. Still, whatever the weather spending a couple of days with close friends in the mountains will be good for me even if it is tremendously difficult. I can't wait.

Hopefully the weekend after that I will be flying, but if I can't book it soon I won't get a slot for that day, and it is doubtful if the money will be there to book it. Oh well, what's another week...

Right now though I am kicking back and enjoying having a relaxing weekend before next weekend which will be anything but. I'm reading some of my favourite aviation blogs too, Flight Level 390, FL250, Sulako's Blog, Aviatrix,... the legends of Blogspot that are a household name if you have a passion for flying or even just a passion for good reading. If I could work out how to put a blogroll on here they would be at the side, but for now the Links section will have to do. I'm also reading the student pilot's bible, pictured below, and the operating manual for the G1000 cockpit I'm using now which is even more complex than I thought. I love it.



Happy landings.

Dave

Straight and Level

I was flying again today. I met my instructor, Tony, who is a real comedian and a very talented teacher, at the flying club shortly after 10am. After a quick cup of tea we went out to the G1000 simulator which is really just 2 PC screens using the G1000 trainer software available from Garmin. He ran me through the basics, what knob does what and the normal startup procedure for about half an hour and then said he though I was ready to put what I'd learnt in the sim into practice on the real thing. Tony flies the Dornier 328 so he is no stranger to the glass-cockpit concept.

We taxiied out after a beautiful twin-engined Piper which was taking 4 business executives to Glasgow for the day. Interestingly enough it was being piloted by last week's instructor, Everett, and another guy who we'd seen in uniform earlier.

I taxiied out but will be the first to admit I made a mess of turning round at the end of the runway for a takeoff on 04, but oh well. I took off and lifted the Cessna into the cold but gusty air. I love taking off from runway 4 because it gives a really nice view of Newtownards. We turned and headed down the peninsula where I would do some straight and level training.

Like a lot of new pilots used to flight simulators, I suffer from "head in cockpit" syndrome - that is, spend too much time looking at the instruments and not enough looking out the window. Tony was good at stamping that out by covering the beautiful G1000 screens with his hand. The trick is to keep the dash the height of your fist under the horizon to fly straight-and-level, unless of course you have particularly big fists in which case you will eventually hit the ground and have a very bad day.

Next we practiced levelling out at selected altitudes which is a very important skill and one you keep for the rest of your aviation career. I made good progress on that but need a little more practice on using the trim effectively. I put the altitudes into the G1000 just for the practice to learn where the different knobs are.

It has to be said that it is an absolutely beautiful day here today. It's always such a pleasure to fly on a clear sunny day - we could see the shipwrecks under the sea in the Ards Peninsula. Someone told me there are 365 islands in it but I'm not sure if I believe them, although there are certainly a lot.

I flew in again for a rather exciting landing on runway 34. Like the takeoff we got an interesting view - this time of the sea wall which is right at the start of the runway. 34 is very short too so there was a fair old squeal from the tires. It was difficult to leave Charlie Juliet on the ramp as this is the last time I'll be flying for a couple of weeks at least due to a weekend in the mountains the weekend after next. Shame. Still, at least I'm ending on a high.

Thanks for reading.

The Glass Cockpit

After worrying about today's weather for a whole week, I got a bit of luck and when I went up the sun was shining and the clouds were few. The wind wasn't ideal but the weather can never be completely perfect here so I was happy.

The club was one flying instructor short so things were running somewhat behind schedule. 45 minutes later than planned my instructor, Everett, came out to meet me and explained what we'd be doing today. He said that instead of doing an excercise from my flying manual we'd go up in Charlie India, one of the new Garmin 1000-equipped "glass cockpit" planes. Now, if you have read my embarassingly technical post from a few weeks back you will have gathered that I am pretty excited about these. Basically it replaces our flight instruments and radios with two large screens which act as multi-function displays and control units for the various data we input during a flight. If you happen to be into technology AND aviation therefore, a G1000-equipped plane is quite a machine.

Aside from the instruments they are really the same plane that I have been flying for my previous lessons. The start-up procedure is almost the same with the only differences being extra preparation for the G1000 system and the different positions of various switches to make room for the MFDs. We're getting new, revised checklists printed to cater for the small differences.

We started the engine and got our airfield information and I began the short taxi to runway 22, and after pointing the nose into the wind, putting the brakes on, and revving her up to do the routine power/brake check, we lined up and advised other traffic in the area of our intentions. I gave the little Cessna some beans and up we went, climbing to 1500 feet for what was going to be a relaxing familiarisation flight, free of spiral dives, battles with out-of-trim aircraft, and simulated forced landings that are all part of PPL training. We'd just be getting to grips with the instruments and what we can do with them whilst we flew round the Ards Peninsula back to Newtownards airfield.

I levelled off at 1500 feet and soon took the Cessna up higher to 1700 feet. Everett set the heading bugs and gave the GPS a direct route to Portaferry (with the GPS we can make waypoints out of towns even though there is no actual navaid there, which surprised me) and when we reached that he gave it a direct path back to Newtownards, or EGAD as it is known in aviation circles. We had a play with the autopilot, which is very good, and then he showed me how to switch the display into OBS (omni bearing selector) mode to give me a path onto runway 22. I chased the heading and altitude bugs and GPS guide and before I knew it I was descending to be at 700 feet over the factory near the airfield, which is the standard procedure we use for arriving on this runway. Turning onto finals I flew the airplane down visually and made what I admit was a bit of a thumper of a landing. Landings are more difficult than they look because of the slow airspeed therefore the lack of airflow over the control surfaces, making the controls heavy and sluggish to move. No matter, it was as satisfying as ever to feel the tires hitting the tarmac and with a few more under my belt I will improve.

As I was taxiing in to the flying club apron it occured to me that I had had control of the plane for the whole flight, from taxi out to taxi in. It made me feel pretty good. I now have over 2 hours in my logbook which is not a big dent in the requirements for a PPL but a good start.

I'll be in next Saturday, weather permitting, for a simulator ride with the G1000 glass cockpit, to help me get to grips with the more advanced features without having to fly. After that I will fly it again if the weather holds up. It'll be fun.

Thanks for reading once again, comments/questions welcome as ever.

Well, this blows

What is wrong with this picture? It's a beautiful March day, the air is pleasantly cool and the sky is a crisp, clear blue. And yet I am down here mooching about with my feet on solid ground, rather than up in the air.

You see, although there are no trees bent sideways in this picture it really is quite windy today. And it's even more noticable on a flat airfield than it is in the built-up suburbs of Belfast. When we arrived at Newtownards just after 8:30am this morning, the Cessnas were still in their hangars and the flight instructors had grim looks on their faces. The thing about flight instructors is that they want to fly just as much as you do so when they think it's bad enough to stay on the ground it must really be bad. The winds were 20mph right across the runway when we got there, and they are getting worse by the hour. The Met Office says they will eventually be gusting to nearly 50mph today, so the logbook will stay untouched for another Saturday.

I guess light aircraft deserve a day off too. Especially after what I put one of them through on Wednesday. Oh well, this lesson has been moved to next Sunday, which is not ideal, but better than nothing. Hopefully I'll be able to fly by that time, as snow is forecast for the weekend which would look really nice from the air. Fingers crossed.

It's not all bad news though. I got my hair cut.

Happy Easter.


Dave

The Flying Bug

What would you say to someone who woke at the crack of dawn on the first day of their holiday, took a half-hour walk and then a half-hour bus ride to get into Belfast, waited, then took another half hour bus drive into Newtownards, walked for 45 minutes and then waited a further 1hr 15 minutes - all for a flight which lasted a little over 30 minutes, and then turned around and took the same 3-hour journey home?

Well, today I did just that. I know, it's crazy. But I've been bitten by the flying bug, and I'm afraid it's not something you can shake easily. When my ride, in the form of a car, broke down last night and showed no signs of being able to take me on the 45-minute drive to Newtownards Airfield everyone thought that Wednesday's lesson was a thing of the past. But people with The Flying Bug do crazy things, so I set 5 alarms for 6:30am, got up and left the house at 7:30am. I arrived back a little before 3:00pm.

It was more fun than it sounds. Today is one of those days that is not too cold or too hot and there is no wind. It hasn't rained all day. I know Belfast well and spent a good while last night looking at maps of Newtownards too so getting around was easy. Even the buses came on time. There were even people handing out 2 free bottles of Lucozade Alert, some sort of energy drink that is guaranteed to be bad for my health, on my way home. It was heaven.

My lesson was scheduled to start at 10:15am and I arrived about half an hour early. So I sat in the clubhouse and drank delicious coffee at a bargain 20p per cup (as long as you rinse it out) and read over my checklist and the various aviation magazines dotted about. I sat like this for 15 minutes then looked out the window as another 15 minutes passed by. 15 minutes later I looked at my watch and then, what do you know, another 15 minutes had come and gone. They were running late.

No matter. I talked to the pilots-come-mechanics-come-firemen-come-office workers who staff the airfield and watched as another Cessna pilot got his checkride on one of the new glass cockpit planes. There'd be no high-tech avionics for me today then, but that's OK as the analog panel isn't exactly unpleasant either.

At 10:45am my instructor arrived and we ran through what we'd be doing that day over more tea and coffee. That day we'd be doing more on the effects and further effects of controls and I was thrilled to learn that we'd be doing some spiral dives (which are seriously fun as long as you haven't eaten much in a while) and - I loved this - I'd fly the landing. Winds were light, runway 4 was in use, barometric pressure was 1028 millibars and it was bright despite the cloudy sky. Bring it on.

The aircraft had been flying just a few minutes before we took it (and Wednesdays are quiet, I'm told) so we didn't need to spend much time on the external inspection. Today's instructor, Paul, did the essentials of oil and fuel checks as I ran through the pre-start checklists inside the plane. Soon enough the engine was on and we were backtracking (going the opposite way down the runway) to runway 4, before we vacated and turned round at the end. Although the flying club is quiet during the week, there are plenty of other companies based at Newtownards and we had 2 microlights and 2 helicopters to watch out for. It's fun taxiing with Paul as he treats the plane more like a go-kart than a £150,000 flying machine. Anyway, the microlight pilot on final approach told us he was still 30 seconds away from landing so the throttle went in and we lifted the whole caboodle into the cool March air.

We rolled, pitched, yawed, and spiral dived for 30 minutes up there as we followed the Ards Peninsula and tried to keep away from any houses who might be upset by our airborne antics. Finally we turned her round and started hugging the coast of Strangford Lough (the rw4 approach is easier than rw22 as all you need to do is follow the coast) and said goodbye and thanks to the controllers on Belfast Approach's frequency. I took the reins for landing.

Now, I've done more landings than I care to admit on computer simulators but the real thing is a tad more difficult. This is because although very small control inputs are needed, the ailerons (hinged control surfaces on the wings which allow us to turn the airplane by rolling) are very ineffective at low speeds because of the reduced airflow and therefore reduced lift over them. Anyway, it took a lot of effort with the yoke to get lined up and do the necessary wind correction and it's hard to get the balance right so you don't overdo things. Still, I feel I made a pretty decent job of landing it and Paul seemed happy enough. We taxiied in again and on the way back inside passed another pilot who was taking the plane up. G-UFCG worked hard that day anyway.

I was grinning from ear to ear by the time we were debriefing. I got a copy of the flight records to put in my logbook. Then I was back on the road back to Belfast.

Next lesson is this Saturday, weather permitting, so it won't be as long a wait between posts this time. See you then.

Hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading.

Your Chariot Awaits

Two of the UFC's Cessna 172 aircraft (the newest two, India and Juliet), waiting for their next flight.

Grounded

I was supposed to be flying today but 30-knot winds at the airfield put a stop to that. I won't pretend I'm not disappointed but got to take the bitter with the sweet, I suppose. Ever since I started flying I've found myself keeping a very close eye on the weather forecasts, something that I was never inclined to do before. The weather has been bad all week and I didn't expect to go up today. Oh well.

Moving on to better news, the Ulster Flying Club has taken delivery of its first Garmin 1000-equipped Cessna 172 (that's not ours but is very like it), which uses "glass cockpit" technology the way modern airliners do. Basically it means that instead of the many little "steam gauges" in the cockpit there are just two LCD screens. It's pretty cool and gives access to a whole lot of information, some of which we didn't have before, with the touch of a button. They were dropping hints that students would be flying them to prepare us for the modern airliners we hope to be in in 10 years' time, but I don't think I'll sit behind the controls of G-UFCI for a while as present Cessna flyers come in droves to get checked out in the glass cockpit. We're due to take delivery of another though, and I think they will be the only two in Ireland.

No flying next weekend either, I'm afraid, but I get off school on Tuesday 18th and then have lessons on Wednesday 19th and Saturday 22nd - flying on a weekday is unusual but it's a reschedule from one I was due to have on April 19th when I will be away hiking. Hopefully by that time this atrocious weather will have cleared.

Thanks for stopping by.

Dave

Here we go

Thought I'd share this photo of our Cessna 172 taxiing out to runway 22 yesterday. You can see the runway in the distance. This photo was taken from the viewing gallery outside the clubhouse and given to me afterwards. The weather is worse than it looks!

First Lesson

Before today I hadn't flown in a Cessna since my trial lesson last October. Now I was back to learn to fly for real with my first proper flying lesson. The weather conditions today could most generously be described as unfriendly: there was a severe weather warning posted in the clubhouse advising of winds of between 25 and 35 mph. It was pretty turbulent too - we were only at 1000ft because, as my instructor put it, it was all we were going to get.

The day started with the drive down to Newtownards Airfield (EGAD), home of the Ulster Flying Club. Arriving 20 minutes early I took the oppurtunity to see what else was going on and soon saw an Air Cadets trainer taking off followed by two landing C172s, one of which contained my instructor.

Everett, my instructor, explained that due to the inclement weather conditions we wouldn't get to do much, just effects of controls. It didn't matter to me though - I was just itching to get up there. Following a briefing in which he explained the axes of the airplane and how each one moved and the effect the movement had we trudged out onto the windy apron to the waiting G-UFCG. I was shown how to perform the pre-flight checks and walkaround - something I will do by myself from now on before the instructor arrives. After struggling with the seatbelt (tip: fasten seatbelt before closing door in a Cessna!) we fired her up and did the rest of the checks - mostly of the magnetos and flight controls - before taxiing out. After we climbed back in through the windscreen after my instructor invited me to try the brakes, we continued to just before the holding point and pointed the nose into the wind for the power check. Continuing to the runway, we let an Air Training Corps trainer aircraft lumber off the tarmac ahead of us before I was told to takeoff. Whoa! Taking off on my first lesson? I wasn't going to complain. I pushed the throttle through the dash and a few seconds later we were climbing away from Newtownards in what felt like a giant blender thanks to the weather.

Levelling off we called Belfast ATC to advise them of our intentions before setting off down the Ards peninsula. Once I had her flying straight and level Everett put the aircraft out of trim so that I could see how difficult it was to fly and so that I could practice the art of trimming. It's a useful tool. We then did a few pitches and banks, with the instructor explaining how each was coming about as we did it. Next up was the effect the throttle had on the aircraft, and how to counteract those effects with the rudder pedals. Before I knew it we were descending back into Newtownards, crossing the factory visual reference at the recommended 600 feet and setting down on runway 22 a few moments later. Whilst holding short we saw another C172 come in to land and wow, was it a messy one. He nearly hit the tail before touching down halfway down the runway and taking off again. This weather was not to be messed with.

Having taxiied back up to the clubhouse and completed the after-landing and shutdown checklists the engine went off and I got out (with difficulty), taking care to avoid the pitot tube that is the cause of the famous "Cessna dimple". Everett was impressed at how I'd handled the weather and my knowledge of the aircraft which I thought showed that the hours spent playing Flight Simulator had done me some good. It's another half-hour in the logbook and will sustain me for another fortnight at least.

Roll on March 8th.

Welcome

Hi all! This is just a blog I've created to follow me as I try to attain my Private Piots Licence (PPL). I fly Cessna 172SPs from Newtownards Airport, Northern Ireland. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up the postings after each lesson (more or less every fortnight).

Whether you're a student pilot too, a commercial pilot, or just having a poke about I hope you enjoy this blog. Comments are very welcome.

Thanks for stopping by!


Dave