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