PPRuNe Dispatcher learns to fly

[PPRuNe Dispatcher]

Over the past 4 months I've been learning to fly light aircraft. I've been asked to write up my experiences as encouragement to those PPRuNers who are still to take the first step.... So I hope that at least some of you find my self-indulgent :) little memoirs interesting. I'll try to keep them reasonably short... and won't mention every lesson.

First flight - the trial lesson.
After leaving it for far too long the urge was finally too much - I just HAD to fly light aircraft. My grandad died some years ago and he'd left me a little nest egg which would pay for the training - and as he'd spent 27 years in the RAF I like to think he'd have approved of my plans.

I live near to both Blackbushe and White Waltham so am fortunate to have a choice of training schools. After deciding that the Cessna 150s used for training at Blackbushe are just a bit too cosy, and given that the costs are broadly similar, I decided to take a trial lesson in a PA-28 with the West London Aero Club.

On a pleasant sunday evening in May I met up with the instructor. I told him that 10 years ago I'd gone as far as going solo in a flexwing microlight and I'd had some fairly recent lessons in a 3-axis flexwing.

First was a briefing (20 minutes), then a check of the aircraft, a PA-28-140.
After starting the engine, the instructor told me to taxi to the holding point. Jeez.. the rows of aircraft are close! (Actually they're not, it just seemed so at the time...)

The instructor did the takeoff, passed control to me once we were about 500' up and we flew past Reading for an hour's fun. As I was used to being "in the air" the instructor started me off with straight'n'level, climbs,
descends and turns. I found these quite easy as it was a very still evening, the PA-28 is a nice stable aircraft and the instructions were very clear.

Almost time to head back, I'm asked "is there anything else you want to do?"
"Yes, can we try a stall?" so that's what we did, twice! Then it was time to head back, the instructor took the controls for the overhead rejoin which seemed to consist of multiple turns at random and down we came.

Damnit, I'm hooked! :)

[ 16 December 2001: Message edited by: PPRuNe Dispatcher ]

[Gazeem2]

Hey PD,

did the BA 1-11 time help out?

how was your and mrs PD's heads on Sunday? :D

[rebeccadblake]

My advise...... Dont start... its like a drug, but better you love it sooo much you spend all your time saving/working to get the money to do it again..... then you will find you dont have a life.. YOU LIFE IS FLYING.. :p

---------------------------------------------once tasted flight you will forever hold your head skybound, for there you have been and there you long to return.

[Don D Cake]

Like a drug? You're not kidding. I got hooked by a trial lesson my wife got me for Christmas. Nothing happened for a year or so as I thought I couldn't really afford to learn to fly then the fatal day.... I ventured into a betting shop and put £10 each way on Red Marauder in the Grand National. That netted me £450 and started my flying fund. That money's long gone and now I'm walking around in rags for clothes and I'm remortgaging the house. Now I'll never be the richest man in the graveyard but I should die with a smile on my face....

[PPRuNe Dispatcher]

Time for part 2 :

Two days after my trial lesson I drove over to White Waltham with Pat (my wife) She was going to sit in the rather pleasant clubhouse while I flew.

I introduced Pat to the instructor who said "so, do you want to come along then? Plenty of room!" Blimy, my first SLF!

Lesson 2 was straight-and-level, climbing, descending, turning, all carried out west of Reading. A lovely evening for flying and it all went very well.
Still haven't figured out what all this "overhead join" stuff is all about
though.

After we'd landed I asked Pat if she'd enjoyed it - she said yes, but after a while she'd fallen asleep! I took that as a compliment on flying smoothly - but then remembered that once while driving home I'd had to do a full emergency stop from 80mph (ahem) after the guy in front of me lost control. Pat was asleep at the time and didn't wake up then. Ah well!

[timmcat]

Having had the pleasure of Mr. Dispatcher's company through the long and difficult years of secondary school, I can recall his enthusiasm for the school 'Hang Glider' fund. Trust that the years have moderated your aviation ambition somewhat Mik, well done so far!

[hasell]

Hey PD,
Who is your instructor at WW??
Nick Armstrong is my instructor.

Regards.
H.

[redsnail]

PD,
Well done mate. Remember, you don't ever stop learning in this game.
Oh, btw, it's sunny, birds singing, clear skies and it's warm. Must be Oz <img src="wink.gif" border="0">

[PPRuNe Dispatcher]

Hi hasell, Hazel (deputy CFI) is my instructor. I started off with Charles Perry before he left to fly Tiger Moths...

Reddo, I spent 10 minutes scraping the ice off my car last night so I've learnt that in December I should move to Oz for 3 months <img src="wink.gif" border="0">

I'll post my next progress report later today : stalls and slow flight.

[PPRuNe Dispatcher]

3rd flight, or "PPRuNe Dispatcher does it slowwwwwly.. and tries to land."

After finding out that I can get a PA-28 to go up, down and round in circles, it was time for slow flight and stalls. Again it was a lovely evening, very calm indeed.

Practicing slow flight and stalls in a PA-28-161 is (relatively) easy and isn't anything to be frightened of. Anyone who has flown a PA-28-161 knows that in that aircraft stalls are very gentle so long as the standard recovery action is correct, i.e. nose down (or more correctly, release back pressure!) and apply full power. I'd had the usual excellent briefing, I'd read up on what was going to happen so after a bit of practice I found I quite enjoyed slow flight and stalls in various configurations (landing config, flapless, in a turn etc). Preventing further wing drop by using the rudder instead of ailerons is something I managed - but I can see that stalling and airspeed awareness is something that requires practice as a stall at low level could still kill me even in a benign aircraft like the Warrior.

(BTW, John Farley has written some excellent articles on stalls and spins in the latest two issues of "Flyer".)

On the way back I asked the instructor if I could land the aircraft instead of just following through on the controls. I thought I heard him snicker as he said "of course". I had been told the speeds for the approach, but found out that being told them and really knowing them were different things.

With the instructor giving directions I flew the overhead rejoin and entered downwind. It still felt like just going around in ever-decreasing circles but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it one day..

The first attempt : lined up OK, a bit high, a bit fast, so I applied final stage of flap and I held the nose up to slow down to 80-ish (!!!), came over the fence at about 200' and very quickly decided that this was going to be a go-around.

Second attempt : lined up OK, height OK but a bit fast. I knew that it's not good practice to force an aircraft onto the ground before it's ready to land so I was flying a few feet off the grass... and still flying a few feet off the grass... and STILL flying a few feet off the grass... and the instructor said "what do you think?" "Going around!" "Good decision" Humm... how do you land a light aircraft when you've only got 1100 meters?

If the instructor hadn't taken over at that point I think we'd still be flying over the runway at five feet and warp 8...

Still, not bad for just three lessons!

[ 22 December 2001: Message edited by: PPRuNe Dispatcher ]</p>

[No_Speed_Restriction]

You the Man!!!
It's brilliant to hear someone who gets so much out of flying. There is nothing worse than flying with someone who "takes the fun out of it."

Sorry to say though that your bubble might be burst when the CAA proudly present you with your first official bill. That's one thing you do NOT want to put up on your wall.

That's Show Biz!

Enjoy!


P.S. Regarding your landing attempts: if you still find yourself hovering above the runway at 80 knots and the airplane doesn't want to come down, just tell your FI you are conducting a low-level runway inspection. That'll keep his mouth shut. Just make sure you get it sorted out by your Skills Test :)

[PPRuNe Dispatcher]

Now it was time to concentrate on learning the skills necessary to safely get an aircraft from where it was parked, into the air, back down again and safely parking it. In other words, go solo!

Like a lot of people I thought that the real problem was just going to be landing the aircraft. Nooooo! Looking back at what I was taught, what I had to really know how to do were :
1) Stay ahead of the aircraft
2) Doing all that was necessary to ensure a safe flight.

I'll try and explain. Up until this point everything I'd done was done in my own time with lots of prompting. To go solo I had to do everything that needed to be done when it needed to be done without any help. This became very apparent from the moment we started walking out to the aircraft for the first circuit session.

The instructor made it clear that checking the aircraft was now MY responsibility, and that if I was the first one to fly it that day, it'd be MY signature on the tech log. stating that the 'A' check had been done. I'd been shown how to check the aircraft over, and could describe what I was doing and why.

OK, checks done, engine started and off we go. But now if I missed a "memory item" check I was reminded of it quite firmly! E.g. as soon as the engine is started, check that the starter engagement light is off and that oil pressure
is rising. Check brakes immediately after moving off. If there is a pilot in the other front seat then get them to check their brakes as well.

And of course correct use of the checklists had to be demonstrated.

So, onto circuits. Every airfield has a unique challenge when doing circuits, e.g. at Popham it's the offset approach onto 26 and the dippy runway. At White Waltham it's the fact that as their are three runways, there are 6 seperate curcuits and they all have to be strictly followed for noise reasons. So for example the crosswind turn may well happen before reaching 500'. The downwind turn may take place as circuit height is reached, which for someone learning to fly really does add to the workload at that point.

I'll try and describe a circuit in a PA-28 at White Waltham. I've probably missed out something vital so don't take this as "how to fly a circuit"!

I'm at the side of the runway, facing down it. Power checks and vital checks done. Listening on the radio, is there anyone downwind or on final? Turn the aircraft so I can see the circuit, is their anyone on downwind or on final? If all is clear, make the radio call "Golf Delta Foxtrot lining up two-five", taxi onto the runway, check compass and DI agree with the runway, check carb heat off, apply full power over 2-3 seconds, check Ts, Ps, AI increasing, keep it straight with rudder, keep right hand on throttle. I always check carb heat just before or after applying full power as it's easy to forget to take carb heat off when doing a touch'n'go... so whenever I go to full power, visual check of carb heat.

Back pressure, she's getting very light, off she comes. Nice and clear of the ground, don't climb yet, wait a sec., airspeed will now be 65, climb at 65-70, 100' up, first stage of flaps in and adjust the yoke pressure so that their is no sudden sensation of rise or sink during flap retraction. 200', flaps up, again adjust yoke
pressure and we should now be doing 80 knots.

Time to turn, check height/airspeed, no more than 15 degrees bank. Almost time to turn onto downwind, check I'm not cutting anyone up, check height/airspeed, at 750' gently reduce power, adjust attitude, turn, now on downwind.
Trim, just over 800' at 95 knots that'll do. Keep checking no one is cutting me up from the dead side.

BUMFFICHH checks. Brakes (off, check pressure felt on the toe brakes, feet down and clear of brakes) Undercarriage (down and welded or else we're in serious trouble), Mixture (full rich), Flaps (up or as required, check handle agrees with what I can see), Fuel (pump on, pressure OK, tank selected has sufficient for circuit and go-around), Instruments (QFE & height, direction agrees with compass & indicates opposite to runway direction, airspeed, Ts & Ps) Carb heat (ON), Hatch (top & bottom latched), Harness (mine & all SLF). And all this in 20 seconds.

Abeam upwind end of the drag, make the call "Golf Delta Foxtrot downwind two-five touch and go"

Now I can relax for two seconds. (Unless I've got an instrutor next to me as they have a habit of chopping the power at this point if I look too relaxed)

Turn base. Immediately reduce to 1500 rpm (-ish), airspeed in the white arc? Yes, two notches of flap, hold attitude until we're doing 80 knots, trim and we'll be doing 75. Works every time. Think about final approach speed - it's calm, 65 over the fence. A breeze means 70 over the fence. Definitely windy, and it's 75 over the fence. Very windy and I wouldn't be flying.

Look at the runway. Control speed with attitude, landing point with power. At least that's what I've been told and it work, although of course adding power increases speed as does easing the nose down. It's a coordination thing but for me attitude for speed and power for aimpoint works.

Check airspeed. Look at the runway. Check airspeed. Look at the runway. Time for the turn, keep airspeed at or above 75 round the turn. Nicely lined up, a bit high.. so full flap and now we're going to land on the intersection of 21 and 25, perfect. Call "Golf Delta Foxtrot final two five for touch and go" and put carb heat off.

Slight back pressure, quick (approximate) retrim and we cross the fence at just over 65, lovely.
Power to idle, keep right hand on throttle.

I've been told their are a secrets to making a perfect landing in a light aircraft every time. At the last PPRuNe Gatbash I was told that nobody knows what they all are, but I did manage to obtain some of these secrets. They might not work for you but they work for me (so far!)
1) A light aircraft doesn't just flare and land. Big jets do that. What a light aircraft does is to flare, round out then hold off.
2) Don't try and land. Fly a foot or so above the runway for as long as you can with no power. The aircraft will land when it's ready to, sometimes a second or so after the stall warning goes off and it'll be nice and gentle.
If you get a hint you are running out of runway, go around, don't force it on.
3) Once in the hold-off, don't push the yoke forward. If you feel you need to, go around.
4) Once the mains are on the ground don't apply brakes until the nosewheel is down as well. Applying the brakes with the nose still in the air will bash the nose down and that isn't big and it isn't clever. Well, I suppose the repair bill for wrecking the front of the aircraft would be big...

Feel free to disagree with me - or if you know what the other secrets are I'd apprecate knowing! (They are probably in Alan Bramson's excellent book "Make Better Landings")

So - over the runway, feel the world come up around me, round-out, feel it sink, hold it there, fly, fly, fly, fly, beeeeeeeeeeeep and we're down a hundred foot or so after the intersection of 21 and 25. Full power, hold it
straight, two notches of flap, check carb heat off, Ts & Ps good, airspeed building, and off for for another go.

I like circuits. They are difficult enough to be very challenging, easy(!) enough to be possible, and extremely satisfying when they go well.

So how did I do...?
My first fully unassisted landing was about 50' to the right of the runway but at White Waltham that doesn't matter too much. (Instuctor told me to continue the approach and not worry THIS TIME about landing off the runway but don't do it again!) My first flapless landing wasn't a landing - I kept the speed up just a bit too much so turned it into yet another go-around. My first glide approach was pretty good - it was also flapless as I'd extended downwind a bit too far and the last thing I neededwas extra drag! And if your instructor uses the word "Fanstop" over the radio you are about to have an interesting few seconds.

But on a good day I found I could fly the aircraft within +- 50' of 800 in the circuit, land just to the left or the right of the centreline (not on it, it's very rutted), usually keep ahead of the aircraft, and very importantly decide early enough to go-around when I didn't like the look of an approach.

So after circuit bashing for some hours I was told "get your air law, you'll be going solo soon". Apprehensive, me? Well... yes...

[ 27 December 2001: Message edited by: PPRuNe Dispatcher ]</p>