Flying in the Isle of Man

[oscarmike]

Hi All

I was visiting some friends in the Isle of Man last weekend.

I have often thought about flying myself there, but what has always put me off is crossing all that water in our little Jodel.

Shortest route seems to be via Anglesey dct Ronaldsway which is around 40 miles over the water. OK - not that big a deal, but especially at this time of year, not a situation where you would want the donkey to quit on you.

Anyway, it suddenly occured to me that there appears to be a couple of GA schools at Ronaldsway, that anyone training there and carrying out their qualifying cross country flight would haveto cross the water as a solo student!

I assume this is correct?

If so, it made me think that if solo studes can do it there is no reason why I couldn't!

Flight both ways was superb, even on Flybe - would have been fantastic to do it VFR. The mainland was clearly visible from the island.

Maybe next time..........:ok:

[pistongone]

You must know the plane won't know its over the water? Seriously though, a Jodel must have a 10/1 glide ratio so at 5000' you got 10 miles gliding if it did quit. So now your only going to be out of range of the dry stuff for 20 miles @ say 90kn in a Jodel, thats 14 minutes, and the probability of your engine choosing those very same 14 minutes to quit is very, very low! Well thats my advice for what its worth( as much as you pay for it!) Happy landings.:ok:

[cessna l plate]

It's less water if you go up to Carlisle and cross from there. I know a few that go direct from LPL, the trick (I am told) is to follow the boat trails so that you can be rescued if need be, but as a paid up coward, Carlisle does it for me!

[Newforest]

We tried it once from Blackpool, Ronaldsway was fogged in so we diverted to................The Scilly Isles, what a flight, my best ever!

[junction34]

OscarMike,

Yes, student PPLs on the Isle of Man (like me) have an over water section on the cross country flying. It's a bit daunting - even the introductory nav exercises were done over the south of Scotland. Cross country qualifier to Carlisle & Prestwick.

The shortest water crossing is Point of Ayre - Burrow Head (15NM), but that's a bit out of the way for most people. Workington - Maughold Head (32NM) is OK too. (for what it's worth, it's almost a direct route between lifeboat stations!)

Happy at FL50, higher is better ;)

-j34-

[Bluebeard777]

Oscarmike, with a Jodel you know at least that if the worst happened ......... it will float! :O

One of the many benefits af being in a small wooden aeroplane.

[jabberwok]

Oscarmike, with a Jodel you know at least that if the worst happened ......... it will float!

Unfortunately two Jodel's have ditched in the past on flights from the Isle of Man - one sadly fatal.. I can recall four ditchings (that is to say controlled landings on water rather than uncontrolled impacts) in the last 30 years but there may have been more. One of the Jodel's was flying the short 15nm crossing to Burrow Head but he still ended up in the water.

Never convince yourself it won't happen - take sensible precautions.

[IO540]

I don't think one can assume a wooden plane will float just because wood itself floats. The engine and all the rest of the non-floating stuff in it is plenty heavy enough, I am sure.

[Bluebeard777]

The Jodel spar design will provide considerable buoyancy, providing the aircraft remains structurally intact after ditching.

This is not to suggest you shouldnt bring all the normal survival gear.

[IO540]

The thing is that if all cavities fill with water, the final object is heavier than water, it will sink instantly, no matter what buyoancy there was to start with. Does this plane have large sealed cavities in the wings? It would suprise me because how would the pressure equalise during climb/descent?

[S-Works]

For an object to float at has to have eitehr displacement or bouyancy or a mix of both. Just because an aircraft is wood does not give it enough bouyancy to counteract the weight of the non bouyant stuff, engine etc and it is the wrong shape to displace.

[wombat13]

We tried it once from Blackpool, Ronaldsway was fogged in so we diverted to................The Scilly Isles, what a flight, my best ever!

Newforest, leaving Blackpool for Ronaldsway only to find the destination fogged in suggests you were extremely unlucky.

Or did not check the wx before you set off on what can't have been more than a 30 minute flight. You could have flown that one on the METAR.

The Wombat

[Newforest]

Newforest, leaving Blackpool for Ronaldsway only to find the destination fogged in suggests you were extremely unlucky.
Or did not check the wx before you set off on what can't have been more than a 30 minute flight. You could have flown that one on the METAR.
The Wombat

No, we had the forecast, but decided to try and duck under it but prudence prevailed as we didn't want an overnight and had to return to Eastleigh same day. The Scillies was interesting as we didn't realize it was PPO and as Delta Oscar they accepted us not realizing that another 'DO had already obtained PPO.

[Bluebeard777]

Re comments on buoyancy: My Jodel was successfully ditched by a previous owner and floated well, photos show it sitting up nicely in the water (it was recovered and restored). I would attribute this to the large hollow spar. Of course there are drain holes in the spar, but these are all (as far as I know) on the underside. I'm not saying it wouldnt sink eventually, but you do have a good chance of sitting in/on it for a while, much better than a metal airframe where the only buoyancy may be from whatever space in the fuel tanks.

[oscarmike]

Thanks for all replies.

I too have read reports of Jodels ditching, and being towed to safety.

However, with water temperatures as they are at this time of year I prefer not to put it to the test.

Maybe next summer........ but I would still take the dinghy along!

:ok: