PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Flying to Mull
Thread: Flying to Mull
View Single Post
Old 27th Jun 2004, 22:22
  #32 (permalink)  
Whirlybird

The Original Whirly
 
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Belper, Derbyshire, UK
Posts: 4,326
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
EGCJFlyer,

Enjoy the scenery and free jammy dodgers at Oban, and say hi to Paul for me...remind him of the two women in the C152 who based themselves there for three days last summer. Also take his advice on wx etc; he's a good guy and he knows the area. The approach to one of the runways at Oban (can't remember numbers) involves turning just before the cliff/hill and is quite fun, and a favourite spectator sport at Oban is watching and criticising everyone's landings, all in fun of course. Nice place. Even if you don't manage to get any further, you'll have a good time there; I guarantee it. Incidentally, lots of people don't even get there - lots of 3000+ ft mountains to cross first, so don't feel bad if you don't make it...but I hope you do as it's a fabulous place and one of my favourite airfields.

Finally, to you and several others...I don't think anyone is trying to put you off, or get you to stay in the local area. Of course you need to push yourself a bit. But "a bit" are the operative words, IMHO. Flying to the Highlands, taking three passengers for a trip, landing at a short strip - all these are good things to do and good ways to stretch yourself. I just personally feel that doing ALL OF THEM AT ONCE so early on is too much. I think that's what's setting off warning signals in the bit of my brain that...well, that controls warning signals. The fact that nosewheelfirst and Slinny Runt can do it safely doesn't mean you can; we're all different. I'm not talking about aircraft handling ability or weather here; I'm talking about those rather nebulous human factors that no-one really knows about - the stuff you find out for yourself with experience. I've learned more about myself over the last few years than I have about aircraft handling....and it's important to do that You haven't had time to do that yet. So if you're going to go - and I think you are - please bear all this in mind, OK?

This is all said with the best of intentions. I too was once a very new PPL who gave myself lots of challenges, and with hindsight, I think I did too much too soon. A more experienced pilot told me so at the time, and I didn't listen. I survived to tell the tale...but I might not have done. And doing it all more slowly, over another year or so would have done no harm. That's why I'm saying all this, and I think most of the apparently negative replies you've been getting are saying the same kind of thing.
Whirlybird is offline