LESSON THREE
Last week was cancelled due wx. The wind was gusting 15kts across the RWY and the training limit is 10kts so we didn't bother. However, this week the wind was just on the limit so I could go and do my hour of solo night circuits!
Already it seems night is arriving later in the day. At 1630 I arrived in good daylight and checked the aircraft out without the aid of a torch while watching a most splendid sunset. I was actually looking forward to this sortie, even though it was only circuits.
In the briefing we went though the basic rules. Nav lights on the apron, flash the landing light before engine start, taxi with taxi light, fly with landing light, etc. The flying brief was to complete a minimum five take-offs and full stop landings - i.e. not touch and go's. More like "stop and go's". Since this isn't correct RT phraseology I decided to explain to the tower when I booked out that this flight was my solo circuit bashing for the NQ and that I'd be coming to a complete stop on the runway for a few seconds before commencing another take-off. However I'd be calling for 'touch and go' on the radio. It all seemed to make sense - to me anyway!
So armed with the trusty flash light I ventured off into the dark, got started up and taxied off. It felt really good to get airborne at night SOLO and was it was quite a buzz on the first circuit. Not quite as good as that first solo (PPL) but similar in the sense of "Excellent, I'm up here on my own, it's dark and I feel comfortable with that". It puts some perspective into the training which the IMC course doesn't have - but can't have for practical reasons.
In terms of traffic at EMA, there was very little going on in the hour. I think two jets landed and three left. My circuits fitted perfectly with those departures/arrivals and since I was the only a/c in the circuit there was no orbiting or extended d/w legs so I flew all of the circuits with 1.5nm finals to keep the time down and managed to do six circuits in the 55mins I was airborne. I didn't see the point in doing a seventh as only five were required and I'll get the extra 5mins on the nav work we'll be doing next.
All of the landings were good (and yes I'd say if they weren't - see the last lessons post if you don't believe me!). That cross-wind at 10kts kept them interesting enough and I did a variety of crabbed and wing-down approaches - both methods still work at night! I found the centre line lighting was useful on the cross wind approaches for the quickest indication of what the wind is doing to you in the flare - at those critical points, the relative movement of the edge lighting is less indicative. I feel that without the centreline lighting those landings may not have been as good - though it's hard to say without trying more approaches to other less equipped aerodromes in similar weather.
At the end of the six I taxied back to the school and put the plane to bed. So on now to the next section of training - night navigation. Hopefully that'll be next Sunday wx permitting!
Cheers!
Jez