Becoming a better pilot

[pudoc]

Hi,

So I'm starting hour building in the UK soon and I'm looking for some advice on how to improve my skills. During my PPL lessons I transited the Stansted zone and that was the hardest thing I've ever done but also one of my best PPL flights, the work load was massive with the orbiting, instructions and you really had to be quick on the radio. I've ventured across the channel which I intend to do again also. I had great instructors with me on both adventures and it all went rather smoothly.

I plan on doing things like this again to enhance my skills, my school is going to give me some advice but I'm sure there's more advice to be given.

Basically, I'm looking for any CPL manoeuvres or procedures I can practice or any general tips. It's been a while since I've flown so a check out comes first. And so it's clear, I'm doing the full whack and this is fixed wing.

If anybody has any advice which is irrelevant to hour building, I'd still like to here it.

Looking forward to the replies!

[redsnail]

it's difficult to really find something super relevant for the UK so if my suggestions seem "weird" cut me some slack.

Try reading METARs and TAFs and seeing if you can "go". What are your options wx wise? Turbulence? Risk of windshear? Xw?
Do you have restrictions on your xw limit if the runway is wet or contaminated? (should be yes)

Passenger brief. Learn how to give it without using alarming language. Turbulence will frighten the crap out of nervous flyers, "bumps" is much better.

Take a mate with you, brief him/her to "announce" a diversion to X (obviously somewhere that you can land at) at a time when he/she feels. You plan and do the divert. That'll get your nav skills up - but more importantly, your confidence to handle surprises. Best do them paper flying first. Just so you know what the priority is. "Aviate, navigate, communicate". Main things to consider in no particular order. Fuel? Do I have enough. Direction? What airspace am I going to fly though? Time? When? Can I land there? (that's a tough one - ask ATC - paper exercise)

Now, how much relevance is that to "modern jet airliner" style flying? Directly. Stuff all. But indirectly. A lot. It'll teach you to think, be proactive, plan and be safe.
You could do a tonne of "practice pans" but (now I'll be shot down in flames) all you'll do is annoy every one having to monitor 121.5 on Com2.

[Conan the Vulgarian]

90% of the CPL is compass and stopwatch navigation. To be honest another hundred hours or whatever of P1 will make a pretty big difference to your flying (assuming you've just got your PPL) no matter what you choose to do during that time, but if you can concentrate on one thing make it navigating direct (not following line features, nor going via nearby big features etc.) to _small_ features, putting the map away most of the time (try to only get it out when you are either at a half-way point of a leg, or at the end of one). If you can get some confidence in the process of accurately holding a heading and making corrections at your mid-leg point, that will help a lot.

When I say small features, I mean stuff like a disused airfield, a distinctively shaped patch of forest, a tiny lake, a mast or similar. Try and make your legs 30 or 40nm long with a half-way or so check point, and structure the plan so that each leg has a decent half-way checkpoint so you can get an accurate fix mid-way and make a sensible correction to your heading.

Don't fix a nav error by going from where you end up to your intended half way point on a leg then continuing, rather, judge how far off track you are and in what direction, then use that to infer to what extent you mis-read the wind, and make a correction accordingly to route from where you are _direct_ to the end of the leg, using either double track error, or perhaps standard closing angle + single track error. Drawing 10 degree fan-lines either side of your track helps, but you can also learn to eyeball it, or use the 1 in 60 rule.

Learn to _really_ read a chart. Perhaps you could ask an instructor to talk you through the kind of VFR nav legs they did on their CPL. My experience was that even though I thought I could read a chart before the CPL, I actually couldn't, and my map reading was terrible - you need to learn how to look at small features, distinctively shaped patches of forest, town, coastline, tiny dots of blue that are basically a pond etc. to be able to get a really accurate fix off a chart visually.

If it helps, since you mentioned finding it difficult to manage flying, navigating and talking all at once, turn the damn radio off when you're en-route (in class G of course!), remember your collision avoidance is _entirely_ see and avoid, the radio cannot help you, and if you find it a distraction then don't talk to anyone...

Once you're confident with your nav as a result of the above, a few more transits on your own will help build confidence in your ability to put the nav together with talking on the radio.

If you haven't done any, and can afford to, I highly recommend doing some aerobatics. It'll do wonders for your general handling and confidence in the airplane and in your own ability to fly it.

[pudoc]

Thanks for the replies so far, definitely some good ideas from both of you which I'll take up.

Regarding nav + radio, if I do say so myself I think I'm rather good at that for a new PPL, it was more of a case of flying over a busy Stansted + nav + radio. But I'll do it again (if Essex are being nice!) to work on that. Or if not I'll find something else to give me high (or higher than your usual VFR flight on a nice day) work load, or maybe somebody could suggest something.

Always fancied aerobatics, now I got a good excuse. :D

Keep 'em coming!

[Conan the Vulgarian]

Where are you based? Stansted are the hardest of the big South UK airfields to get a transit of as far as I can tell, Gatwick and Luton are far more likely to let you through without orbiting you etc. Heathrow are OK too, although the only transit suitable for a single is the Western edge of their zone via BUR, and remember Heathrow transits are SVFR since it's Class A so you need 10k vis.

[pudoc]

Based at Stapleford. Somebody I know said he's rarely denied Stansted, but I'd happily try other airports either way. Gatwick would be a good one.

[Genghis the Engineer]

I'd suggest perhaps you set yourself some tasks, then try to fulfill those tasks as accurately as possible.

For example, plan and fly a route, as efficiently as possible to - oh, Fishburn, maintaining track and timings within 2 minutes throughout, and arriving bang on schedule.

Or perhaps, on a day's flying, take a little bag of airfield names that are within 20 miles of your route, pick one at random and fly a really accurate diversion to it.

Or arrange to go and fly circuits at a couple of airfields that are very different to Stapleford. Say, Popham and Cranfield, then return - having of-course landed and paid fees, but also done everything as accurately and by the book as you can.

I'd also suggest, if club rules permit, some robust practice at PFLs and simulated engine fires, until you are really consistently picking and setting up for a good field, with all of the actions in between.

And be really merciless with your own flying standards. Possibly record the intercom/radio so that you can review your RT, simulated mayday calls, pax briefings, captain's brief...

And if you are preparing for a commercial course - do yourself a favour and do performance, W&CG, flight planning and maintain an accurate PLOG for EVERY flight. So that, when you get you your CPL course, doing all of this (plus NOTAMS, met, etc.) is all really punchy and second nature.

G

[pudoc]

Good ideas. I especially think doing all the perf. would be useful, I rarely have to do it, C152 vs Stapleford's runway it was never really encouraged for circuits or navexs understandably.

Is there a website or something that has a list of how to perform certain CPL procedures? For example engine fire in flight, I know what I would do as a PPL but is there something that documents the exact procedure for the CPL?

[Genghis the Engineer]

It'll be to the aircraft checklists used by the individual school.

If you know where you're likely to go, see if they'll sell you a set early (normally a simple aeroplane and a complex aeroplane: my school used a PA38-112 then a PA28R-200.) That'll show you the preferred practices.

It might be worth an hour or two early with a CPL instructor if you have any at Stapleford so they can show you the way it's taught?

G

[AndoniP]

hi pudoc

i was looking into this very subject. i was wondering what the best way to hours build was, in preparation for the CPL.

i believe stapleford has an hours building course where an instructor will tell you what exercises to do, where to fly, what kinds of airspace to negotiate. if you are reluctant to pay for that outright then i guess simply asking an instructor there what they would suggest would be massively beneficial for you.

i guess asking any CPL instructor what to practice and gain experience on will provide you with the answer(s) you need.

if you do speak to an instructor about this and they give you a list i'd appreciate it if you let me know what they say.

[pudoc]

When you start the hours building they told me they'll sit me down with an instructor who looks over the hour builders. I think the guy is one of the senior instructors at Stap and I think the guy instructs a lot of different things as well as CPL.

I don't think it's a course per say but more of a 'pay for hour building and you can consult with this guy' kind of thing.

I'll let you know what he says. Won't be starting until late next month tho.