Right then, where do I start?
I had been given all the technical specification for the Tecnam aircraft before I went away, as this is what I would be flying - so I swatted up beforehand. However, on the day, I receive a call from my cousin (CFI) who says they are away in Sicily for maintenance, as there is a problem with the flaps. So I was beginning to think that the flying would be cancelled, however, we managed to obtain a Cessna 152 from an extremely nice guy, who also happened to be a controller on the tower frequency at Luqa Malta (LMML) - so he rented that to us for 3 hours. I very much doubt he is reading this, but just in case, Thanks!
When we arrived at the flying school, I was nothing but amazed. Nothing like I had ever seen before (saying that, I have only seen a couple here). It is called Falcon Alliance Aviation, and it looks awesome inside. Very big and full of aviation articles, even a spitfire engine in reception, it was immaculate with large teaching rooms and cockpit instruments all over the place to aid teaching. Very impressive indeed. Upon first glance at the c152 I was amazed to see how clean and well maintained it was, not even a scratch! The first problem I came across was having to crouch down quite a bit on the walk around - I am about 6ft 2 so I didn't stay under the wing for too long. The apron was massive - I am used to a simple tarmac area, with a free for all parking style, whereas here, there are parking bays and designated areas etc. I don't want to sound like I am being biased or comparing everything, Luqa is the only airport in Malta, and it is understandably huge and detailed - I am not having a moan about the UK
Take a look at the pictures in the link below, there are some of the apron as well as Sicily/Malta etc.
We went through the start-up checks as normal, they are very similar to what I am used to, apart from the fuel selection, i.e. there is non, just on and off. The parking brake seemed strange, press the brakes, pull the lever and release the brakes – they are locked. What I did like about the c152 was the spring loaded front wheel steering – very smooth indeed and you only need feather weight in order for them to move. The only problem with these was that in order to turn, you have to start a little early and use a touch of brake to get the turn going – very easy though, much preferred to fixed wheel steering. I called up for permission to start the engine, telling the tower we were on VFR to Sicily – before I knew it we were rolling for takeoff. The throttle seemed strange also, having to push it in to increase RPM and vice versa – during the flight later on, I was doing the opposite by mistake! What I noticed about this aircraft was that it seemed very reluctant to get off the ground. Most of the manoeuvring speeds were around 5-10 knots slower to what I am used to, so we rotated at about 60 knots. In the Tommy, I have trouble keeping it on the ground, using forward pressure until 65 knots is reached (this isn’t due to incorrect trimming) and upon releasing the forward pressure, if your not too careful it leaps off the ground, however, in the c152, the nose seemed to crawl, and when it came up, it was a couple of seconds before the aircraft came off the ground – it felt like a stall and that it was struggling, but this wasn’t the case. One thing I did notice during climb out was the amazing angle of climb, however, I think this was due to the fact that it is a high wing, and seems more noticeable compared to a low wing. we climbed to flight level 55 and settled down. The wind was zero and the air was still – I could not get over how easy the Cessna is to fly, it was very responsive and, the rudder was awesome, the slightest touch and the nose whizzes left and right – probably the spring loading coming into play again – it was great. There was absolutely no turbulence at all – I could have flown it all the way to Sicily without touching the yoke, it trimmed beautifully and was very well behaved. The one thing I found most difficult at first was the RT – not the words used/dialect but the accent and the muffling over the earpiece. I am very much used to the accent, having Maltese blood in me, but I didn’t find the sound too clear, so I had a little trouble at first. After about an hour or so it wasn’t a problem, I was talking to Sicily radar with not too much difficulty. This was the first time that I had actually crossed an FIR (Flight Information Region). As a student, this is not allowed solo, so anyone studying for the PPL in Malta, gets dropped off in Sicily to do the solo navigation.
Anyway, the flight details were as follows:
Malta (LMML) – Gela (Sicily) – Calta – Licata – Malta
Gela is a southern town on the coast of Sicily, we used the VOR to track the 358 radial, from the VOR station – this was very easy as the weather meant no drift. I found the VOR a pretty straight forward device, in which I learned a cracking acronym (for the lads – sorry ladies):
TITS:
T – Tune
I – Identify
T – Test
The ‘S’ can be anything you like! The test involved turning the OBS (Omnidirectional bearing selector) so that you can see the needle deflect both sides, a TO and FROM flag and the no signal flag. These went well and we tracked it all the way, spot on to Gela. Upon reaching Gela, we did a triangular navigation exercise which involved:
Gela to Calta: 26 nautical miles and 18.5 minutes.
Calta to Licata: 24 nautical miles and 16 minutes.
I couldn’t get over how easy it was to spot the individual towns, this was due to the vast greenery in Sicily and the fact that we were 5,500 feet! Check out the photo link to see what I mean. on the way back, we then tracked the reciprocal heading on the VOR – looking out the window proved nothing, there was haze and not really any horizon due to the longer distance, but using the VOR soon meant that after about 52 minutes, the north coast of Gozo (where the VOR is situated) came into view. We then tracked down the east coast (Malta is split up into quarters, using the centre-line of the runway: north, east, south and west) until we were east abeam the airport, in which we came for a straight in approach. The plan was to do some touch and goes, which proved uneventful and enjoyable. The Tomahawk gives a soft cushioning of air upon touchdown, due to the low wing structure – this wasn’t present in the Cessna so the touchdown came slightly quicker, which meant judging the flare was important. We done 3 or 4 circuits, and this is where I learned a major difference between high and low wing aircraft – you cant see where you are turning in a high wing! Turning base would require a little knowledge of local landmarks, so that the turn can be judged correctly, as you cant see the runway! One thing that was new to me today, was an orbit of the approach. At Liverpool, we only have one runway, so any orbiting must take place on downwind etc, but as we were on runway 24 and the commercial traffic were on runway 32 (I think – see the pictures) we orbited the approach (to rw24) which was interesting.
Overall, an amazing experience, one which I will never forget, and one which I would like to repeat in the near future, without an instructor! Thanks for reading this long post, enjoy the pictures,
Lee
http://groups.msn.com/PPLFlyingPictures/shoebox.msnw