Another great day today... low vis, METAR giving 2200m, so definitely wouldn't have flown VFR... sorry to sound mean, but it felt great to hear people cancelling VFR flights at the club and knowing that we could go anyway because of the marvel that is instrument flying... does this make me a bad person!?
As we set out tracking to WCO enroute to Cranfield from Wycombe, we climbed through a layer which I think started about 2600 (I couldn't see out from behind the screens so couldn't tell you for sure!).
In the climb the boss opened the little post-box sized slot before my eyes so I could see I was in cloud - felt great. Then it slowly became brighter, and brigher, then suddenly...
BLUE!. It looked wonderful - and felt
very special to be in VMC on top with summery blue skies and sunlight all around, above the lovely, flat, fluffy and oh-so-white clouds!
My little letterbox slot closed again after just a few glorious moments on top, then it was back to business... track to enter the hold at Cranfield, around the hold a couple times (boss seemed disappointed because there was no wind to speak of so he thought it a bit too easy for me...) and then a couple of "alternate procedure" ILS approaches followed by a direct ILS approach, then back to Wycombe VFR (well the boss was VFR, I was behind the screens...).
On the way back we did some partial panel recovery from unusual attitudes... these frankly do me head in, so I struggled a bit with these but largely got away with it.
It was very beautiful as we approached Wycombe... those that are familiar with the area will know that there are a series of valleys running N/S as you approach the town, and these filled with mist and it looked lovely from above. I had trouble spotting the field in the haze, but the boss knew where it was anyway, and so we landed uneventfully.
A great flight - and after a pause for a sandwich in the re-furbished "clubhouse" pub on the airfield (much improved from the old "Happy Landings" which was a total dump prior to refurbishment!) I did my IMC ground exam, and passed OK (84% - two silly mistakes, and two I frankly did not know the answer to!). So, a good end to a great day... just a couple more lessons I hope (in the new year as we are going away) and then the test!!!
Andy
p.s. I found
www.airquiz.com an excellent way of preparing for the exam - highly recommended!