Andy,
Well done on your PPL! Great feeling, isn't it? Seems like you're at about the same stage as me - I passed last month, and got my license a couple of weeks ago.
Sounds like you had a great day! Mine wasn't so good unfortunately - but I did get to fly, so it wasn't all bad! I had other arrangements for the whole weekend, but a last-minute change of plans meant I had some free time on Saturday - so of course I rushed down to White Waltham to hire a plane - and even got my sister and her boyfriend to come with and become by first passengers!
We planned on flying to Shoreham. Got airborne and got a FIS from Farnborough. They asked us to route to the East of Farnborough - no problem, since that was what I'd planned anyway. Only problem was a huge great rain shower over Wokingham. Couldn't get to the east of it due to London CTR, so I told Farnborough I couldn't go that way, and asked for MATZ penetration. And, for the first time ever, they refused! I'm not actually sure if they're allowed to do that, after all it's Class G, but the reply came back "Negative, I've got departing traffic that way. Please stay East of Farnborough."
I stuck around for about 1/2 hour waiting for the rain to move, but it wasn't going anyway. A couple of times it looked light enough to fly through so I gave it a go, but as soon as the windscreen got wet visibility went
way below what I was happy with. Eventually gave up and went home.
Things I learnt from this:
- Dont assume that controllers will always give you what you request
- Showers sometimes stay still!
- Even if you can see right through a shower and out the other side, the vis inside the shower will be lower than it looks
- Be prepared to plan alternative routes to the same destination. I could easilly have flown out towards Basingstoke, under the stub of the Odiham MATZ, and not needed the MATZ penetration. I just never thought about doing that.
- When flying somewhere just for the fun of flying, it doesn't matter where you go! After I landed, I wondered why I didn't head north, or west, or anywhere except where the rain was! I never thought of that while I was up there, either.
Overall, an educational flight even if I didn't make it to Shoreham. And I've got my first passengers in my logbook too! (They both loved it, except when we flew into the rain which my sister didn't like too much. Have to remember that when I take up passengers in future.) Wish I'd been able to make it past that shower, though - sounds like it was great further south!
FFF
PS - This is my first ever PPRuNe post - so Hi to all you PPruNers out there! And sorry for making the first one so long and irrelevant!