Skills Test passed!

[BeauMan]

Sorry to impose a blatant piece of self-backslapping on you all, but I'd just like to tell you all that this afternoon, I passed my JAR PPL Skills Test.

Hardest two hours and fifty minutes of my life, but by god it felt good when the examiner said I'd passed!

I was toying with the idea of doing a full write up, but I'm absolutely bushed. Maybe get round to typing it all up in a day or so.

In the meantime (and at risk of sounding like an Oscar winner...) I'd just like to thank everyone at Mid Anglia School of Flying for helping me to achieve this milestone. Or as the boss there said to me this evening, "Welcome to the ranks of the Eternally Poor!"

:)

[High Wing Drifter]

Slap away! 2:50, she/he made you work for it! Mine was a de-hydrating 2 hrs. Obviously you were doing too well :ok:

Welcome to the ranks of the Eternally Poor!
Yup, but everyone else thinks you're loaded :}

[murphy1901]

Congratulations BeauMan! :ok:

..and as someone who is just about to take his skills test too, I'd be more than interested in reading that write-up!

[Maxflyer]

Top Bloke!

Mine was just over a year ago and I still can't believe I passed it. Enjoy the moment and milk it for all it's worth. You really achieved something significant today.

Mine was 2.50 as well.

[BRL]

Well done sir, result...... :ok:

Looking forward to the write-up, something that used to be common in here as were first solo threads but sadly they have died down somewhat over the last year or two. Hardly any at all now, yours being the first for a while.

Anyone else about to do the same or done so recently, we would really like to read about it. :)

[LowNSlow]

Congratulations BeauMan, welcome to the world of the 100 quid coffee!

Now's the time to start exploring the world. :ok:

[Evo]

Congrats, BeauMan - hope the hangover isn't too bad! 2:50, bl**dy hell, mine was 2:12 and I was exhausted after that one.

Now you've got the worst bit of it all...

...the Wait for the CAA to issue the licence :{

[Northern Highflyer]

Well done and welcome to the club. :ok:

I have got my IMC test next weekend so keep your fingers crossed. :uhoh:

[Penguina]

BRL
If it's first solo write-ups you want, I have a little nine-page version of mine (small font an' all) that I didn't think ever to post here because it's so damned long! :) Wasn't written for pilots, so not very technical like, but sure brings back those memories. It's yours in its entirity if you want it. :E

BeauMan - congratulations! Self-backslapping is quite permissible under the circumstances and a much better read than lots of the other material about!

Luv,
Penguina

[BeauMan]

Thanks everyone for the kind words, it's greatly appreciated. :)

So... by popular (?!?) demand, and lifted straight from the write-up I did over on the Flypast forums, her's the blow by blow account of how yesterday went. It might be long, but count yerselves lucky you've not been subjected to the cheesy mugshot as well... ;)

BeauMan




No longer an Earthbound Misfit.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed my tag line has changed from 'Earthbound Misfit' to 'Former Earthbound Misfit'. Anyone who knows Pink Floyd's 'Learning To Fly' will twig the meaning immediately, but the simple explanation is because the nice man from the CAA saw fit, at 17.25 today, to utter the immortal words at the end of my Skills Test;

"You've passed".

It's been quite a week for me leading up to this; my usual mount, G-BFWB, went in for her annual on Monday, and as I had a quite short notice slot come up for the test (I found out on Monday), I had quite a daunting prospect ahead of me. The plan quickly became, have a quick half hour yesterday in another one of the fleet which I hadn't flown before prior to taking the test in it today. Not an ideal way to prepare, learning where the dials and switches are in a new aeroplane, but c'est la vie. So yesterday morning, there I was, an hour away from getting into the car and driving over to Cambridge to acquaint myself with G-MASF.

The phone rings. It's the Ops Manager. "Just thought you'd like to know, we've got Whiskey Bravo back for you. But you won't recognise her, she's got a new exhaust and a new prop. She climbs like a rocket!"

I didn't hear the rest of the conversation - I'd got MY aeroplane back, that was enough for me! So I scrubbed the familiarisation trip in Sierra Fox (that'll come at a later date), and spent the rest of yesterday checking my flight kit, doing example weight and balance checks, checking the flight kit, planning example routes, checking my flight kit, reading through the checklists. Oh, did I say I checked my flight kit?

This morning dawned bright and clear. Minimal wind, visibility all the nines, no significant weather. And of course, I'd got dear old Whiskey Bravo to do it in.

Turned up at Mid Anglia late morning, got given a route to plan, planned it, did the weight and balance, checked my flight kit, got all the paperwork sorted out, examiner arrived and we went through a briefing, checked my flight kit, booked out, and then off I went to preflight the aeroplane.

Snag number one. She ISN'T fully fuelled. So after the walk round and internals, it's just a short taxi to the pumps.

Problem is, it threw my routine out a bit. Things seemed to be slightly disjointed for a while, compounded by the fact that the wind dictated we use runway 05 as opposed to our normal 23, which meant taxiing to a hold I don't usually use, right hand circuit to climb out on instead of the usual left hand... But after the power checks and a "This is what'll happen if the whirly thing stops whirling" briefing from me, we were given clearance. This was it.

Departure out of Cambridge went well, climbed to 2500 in the overhead, noted the time, and set course for Loddon, a small (and, it turned out, bloody hard to find!) village just south of Norwich. Waypoints along the route were nice and easy, although today's trubulent conditions made nailing my height a bit tricky. The accent gods were on my side too, as for the first time in ages, I had a controller at Lakenheath who I could understand. Time spent in the pub at Old Warden talking to Steve Patterson obviously prepared me for this moment!

Snag number two. Where's Loddon? The timings were going great guns, everything was on track (ish) and on height (ish), but all of a sudden something didn't look quite right. I could see the examiner perusing his map, glancing at the clock, and at me, but I couldn't see Loddon. Time to admit I couldn't see it, and go into an orbit while I sort my life out. Quick check of the map, pick up features on the ground, and oh yes, there's Loddon. I'd been about two miles off track, and it had passed quietly beneath my nose and right wing while I'd looked off to the left.

Still, all corrected, and off we went towards Southend. We never got there. A simulated closing in of the weather meant I had to orbit and fix my position using VOR and DME. Followed immediately by a divert (we were over Framlingham at that point) to Stradishall. Set course and headed off, past Stowmarket, the old 8th AF base at Rattlesden, and finally arrived overhead Stradishall. Three minutes early, wow that's good. Except there's no sign of Haverhill off to the left. But Bury St Edmunds is off to the right, what's going on. Idiot. I'm overhead Chedburgh. So, quick re-plan, turn onto 210 and three minutes later voila! Stradishall.

By now I'm convinced my poor navigation has sunk me, so I relax as we move into the upper air work. Stalls without flap, stall in the landing configuration, recovery from a spiral dive, steep turns to left and right, no problem with any of them. Slow flight at 53 knots hanging on the prop with the stall warner wheeeeeeing away in my ear was almost enjoyable. Even the dreaded PFL went swimmingly well, as did the simulated engine failure after take off. Tight low level circuit and an approach to land in a field went great, even if I did wonder whether he would ever let me put the power on and climb away.

And so back to Cambridge for an overhead join, a flapless approach to a touch and go, a glide approach also to a touch and go, and then a short field approach to land, which we had to switch from the hard to the grass, just to make life amusing. Cambridgeshire is largely flat. Apart from the grass runway at Cambridge, but after coming to a halt, clicking our vertebrae back in and ensuring that Whiskey Bravo and her new prop were all still in one piece, I taxied in to recieve the good news. And a glass of champagne.

Many thanks to all at Mid Anglia School of Flying, for turning a rusty old time expired FAA PPL into a shiny new JAR one. And most of all, for making sure Whiskey Bravo was back in time for me. I couldn't have done it without her.

[Kolibear]

So we'll see you at Sandown on 4th July then??

well done :)

[MikeJeff]

Well done BeauMan! I'm sure your account brings back memories for everyone!

Interesting comment about your "Couldn't of done it without her" reference to your aircraft though. I know most people have their favourite chariots and feel lost without them. I was always a bit of a tart though and flew whatever I was given!

Just wondering what other people thought about flying non familier planes?

[fonawah]

Many congratulations on your achievement. Well done

[rustle]

Congratulations from me as well :)

[Penguina]

I definitely have a favourite steed, no doubt whatsoever. She's just another rusty 152 like all the others, but somehow we are as one... :8 :)

[rotorcraig]

Well done BeauMan,

Don't beat yourself up about not finding Loddon ... I've got friends there and still can't find it in the car!!! ;)

RC