Right here goes.
My GFT had been put of a few times due to wx and the examiner being unavailable, so we managed to get a different examiner, an aerobatics one !
Turned up to have a go and the viz was awful, so we put it off until the following day. Arrived and yep you guessed it the viz was once again bad.
We had a chat and made the decision to go up do what we could and come back if need be.
Did all my checks, everything ok, was holding A2 for runway 10 my examiner had turned the rt down, so I gave the usual G-RJ ready for departure, nothing no reply thenrealised what he had done, so I put the volume back up and put the call in again, the reply was a bit curt, G-RJ STILL HOLD POSITION, ah well that one wasn’t down to me. Took off and set course towards Sedbergh, he has said to tell him when if I was on my own would I have turned back, my answer was now, viz was very poor.
I continued climbing out and levelled out 3000’, I just couldn’t fly it level everywhere you looked it was very hazy, there was no definition and viz was approx. 6-7km.
I was rattled and it was showing I was off track 100' to high then 100' to low just calmed myself down a bitand carried on I kept slipping from my heading, I was track crawling looking for features in the gloom and flying from them to the next one I could see on the map. Well I duly arrived overhead Sedbergh pretty much on time. My next point was Sellafield, but he told me to divert to Ulverston, this I did I stayed wide a bit to avoid Cark who were parachuting, I told him why, he had requested that if you wanted to change height or heading etc just let him know. Afterwards he suggested that really we should have left Blackpool Radar and gone to Cark for a few mins just to tell them where we were.
From Ulverston he wanted me to fly to Stalmine, this was straight out across Morecambe bay, off we went straight into a white out, I just couldn’t see anything, now he said was a good time to do the instrument bit, I got my scan going it was hard work, sweat was running down my head, I felt knackered almost nauseous, after a while I could make out Heysham which helped and the at last there was Fleetwood I felt relieved, he suggested that we get the flapless landing out of the wayand call it a day , I was in total agreement.
Came in on 10 and it was a greaser, which cheered me up a bit, taxied in a bit of a chat and home.
I just couldn’t stop thinking about it, I wasn’t happy with the way I flew, had I become over confidant?
I resolved that the second part of the test would be better.
About four days later I got the chance to prove it.
We took off 28 I trimmed it out and climbed to 3000’ weaving the nose every 500’. I am a bit guilty of not using the trimmer as often as I should but was glad that I used it as it gives you more time to manage the cockpit. He had stated that during the general handling hewould do the r/t, well the wire at the back had snapped and he couldn’t, I was happy to carry on it was just going to be one more thing that I would have to do. Set up over Knott End for the steep turns did one and it wasn’t what he called a steep turn so he did one WOW, I then did one left and one right. Stalls next, clean, clean no power, flaps and power and flaps on the turn, it was perhaps a good job that his r/t button wasn’t working as the fella working Blackpool radar must have been bored, he wanted to talk to us all the time, my examiner said to tell him we were on a FIS not RIS/RAS, he also told me tell him a few other things which I omitted!!
Spiral descent was ok 45 degrees to the left and down then “srew it round” (his favourite words) to the right.
PFL next near Weeton army camp, he picked the field the one with the three ponds by the farmhouse, yep got it, would you believe there was two fields that matched that description by the same farmhouse, I picked the wrong one so when we arrived at his field, we were at 600’ he took over stuck allthe flap on pulled two steepish turns and there we were right over it, go around he said get me up to 2000’ and do it again, he could see there were two such fields so I got another chance. Up we went and did it we both agreed we would have made it although we would have had to use the hedge at the end to stop. Of the go around he gave me an EFATO, I did ok, he said he would show me one in the real world, he pulled the revs and stuffed the nose down so hard our heads hit the roof!Back for circuits, started with an overhead join, normal, glide and then he wanted a 500’ bad weather circuit with flap for 25 and a glide approach at the end, boy what an eye opener that C152 can do things you never even thought about.
We landed and that was that a bit of chat, handshakes all round and a silly grin on my face.
Sent off my paperwork, very efficient at the CAA by return of post had a letter telling me they had taken my money, but as yet nothing else.
Flew on my own the week after just 30 mins but it was good.
Has a check ride on a C172 Thursday just gone, it was good stalls, steepturns etc, he did however ask me why I made my steep turns so steep, in his eyes 45 degrees was enough!
At first struggled adapting to the extra speed on landing but after couple of circuits everything was ok.
Last night got a phone call (cheers mate), would o like to go up in a Seneca 5 (almost new) whilst he practised his ILS approaches would I!!
Spent a very enjoyable hour up over Blackpool.
So what now? Well I hope my paperwork turns up, ive got 49 hours and now through work belong to a flying school where £66per hour wet includes landing fee and vat and this on four aircraft!!!
This makes for an exciting summer see you in the sky somewhere and good luck to all of you.
Last edited by Bob Stinger; 21st May 2005 at 09:57.