The most protracted PPL ever?........

[kevmusic]

(Warning - possible long & rambling post ahead! :})

It was May, 1981. It was in the pub, and my brother, Terry, announced he was popping down in a couple of days to Sunderland Flying Club for a trial flight. Having always had an interest in that direction I said I'd pop down too. We were taken up in a 172 by a chap called Les, I think, who introduced himself as an ex-Lancaster pilot. Terry and I loved it, signed up (the £36/hour was very affordable to me at that time) and off we went. Terry dropped out after about 4 hours, citing new furniture suites and domestic pressure in general; I, being unattached, was immune from such interference.

And so I went on my merry way through '81, upto & including first solo. Sunderland was a great place to be then: at the airshow I met & drank with Ted White of Sally B fame, I also watched one of the Tiger Club's Turbs tip on its nose three times as it tried to taxi off the apron. Later I flew with John Maclean and Marcus Edwards in their ex-Rothmans Pitts S2as and was subjected to the rather disorientating experience of a full aero routine, & got to try slow rolls and stall turns myself. Heady days!

On January 3rd, 1982, the bailiffs called at our home - Dad's business was an early caualty of the 80's recession. And so began a long period of dire personal trauma which I shan't detail here but it shoved the flying right out of the window, and my heart with it. I was in LOVE! Flying was now hooked into my soul and nothing could change it. I was also bereft :{

GLIDING

By '84 I had moved to Kent to pursue musical work. While drinking (what a coincidence!) with Bunty I happened to mention to him this unrequited love of mine. He said, "If you come with me Saturday morning, I'll show you where you can be taught to fly for free, get free board and lodging and travelling expenses!"

Come again?

And so I wound up at 617 ATC Volunteer Gliding School, Manston. Bunty was a 'B' cat instructor and made the necessary intros to the Boss & I was in.

And he was right. I was taught to fly for free, provided I could keep up the commitment (I mean, is the Pope Catholic?). I was with them for four years and moved on to Kent Gliding Club. However, the birth of my son meant I just couldn't afford the time now! Nevertheless, I was now a glider pilot :D but still with a hankering for that PPL.......

A RESTART

1991 - A wife and family now. Work was going pretty well and my persistent sighs, nostalgic chatter and general skyward gazes following the Lycoming drone were paying off - I could resart the PPL! I'd always been interested in historic aviation and tailwheel seemed to be the way to go so I started with Medway Flight Training and their Cubs. Through the summer I got back up to solo standard (a great hour in the warm sun, solo circuit bashing at Rochester) but as time wore on things were becoming more strained - domestically and financially.

So the flying stopped for the second time. To try and live a normal life with such anguish bombarding the front of your brain is a most trying test to face; and only people such as ourselves can know it, I think. It must really seem so trivial to the ground-dwellers.

On we trundled through the years with all the helter-skelter rides of bringing up a family. (And speaking of helter-skelters - don't you find the best theme parks really tame when you've done aeros in a Pitts? - and isn't it great we've got a forum like this to say things like that! :eek:)

WHERE THERE'S HOPE.....

2002, and a financial re-alignment(!) meant that I could give it another go. Joy and Hallelujah! Off to Headcorn now, continuing the tailwheel training and an introduction to the low wing set up of the Jodel 150.

I had a great time. Great instructor and a friendly airfield. I was moving onto cross countrys by March 2003 before deteriorating finances again pulled the plug. By now I was getting more philisophical. I recognised that poor planning had resulted in the premature curtailment of at least two of my attempts. But I hadn't finished here. I knew that this was the way I wanted to finally finish the PPL - with this outfit, airfield and instructor.

Now, finally, the blasted finances look like being sorted (look at TheMotleyFool.co.uk as a great resource for help in sorting out a few little fiscal problems! :cool:) and I'm setting aside means for completing the PPL in Summer next year. Should be able to do it over the long summer hol, weather permitting. And if I get the damn exams out of the way...:suspect:

Thanks for reading, if you've got this far. I'll update with intermittent and infrequent progress reports.

Kev.

[MyData]

Kev

Sounds like 'fun' (not). I guess there are many of us whose PPL has been just as protracted. I first wanted to learn to fly after visiting airshows in the 1970s. But there was always something to put me off - schooling, cash, job, house etc. etc. and so it was two years ago that I finally thought - if not now, then when? It will be another year, another decade and I'll never get around to it.

But now it is done, and at a not insignficant expense, it is still one of my greatest achievements. Here's to you getting your ticket in the next year or two!

Good luck.

[shortstripper]

Well done Kev! Keep at it

I followed the gliding - PPL route as well. After three years of gliding I then did my PPL over two years. It took only 35 hours as I continued to fly gliders whilst I was doing it, so didn't go backwards between sporadic lessons. I then struggled for years to keep current as family, job changes ect all took financial preferance. I managed somehow though I still don't fly as much as I'd like ... however, this will soon change as the T31 is nearing completion (see http://www.ivan.pfanet.co.uk)
So you're not alone and I'm sure there are many many others out there with their heads in the clouds but never enough money in their pockets. You sound like you will succeed so good luck to you :ok:

SS

PS .... Love aeros, but fair ground rides frighten the CR@P out of me :eek:

[Kiltie]

I think your ex-Lancaster pilot may have been Les Meadows.

[camlobe]

Kev

So much of what you have said is familiar to many of us. You are not alone. Stick with it. It is worth it in the end.

My own situation was also protracted, although not nearly as much as yours. And my true interest in flying started thanks due to the RAF GSA. Thanks guys for that.

A quick look at my logbook for my 'official' PPL training shows the following facts:-

total time taken - 6 1/2 years
total hours taken 84 hours
total number of instructors 12
total number of flying schools 3
total numbers of aircraft types 11

Made it in the end. And yes it was worth the trials and tribulations.

[kevmusic]

Many thanks for your kind & supportive comments, chaps! (& chapesses?). It does seem lonely burning the candle for 25 years, for sure and it's really good to know there are others out there. :)

(Kiltie:)
"I think your ex-Lancaster pilot may have been Les Meadows."

Thanks for that, Kiltie. I wonder if he's still around?

Kev.

[kevmusic]

Shortstripper - nice site! Good luck with your T31 (spent many happy hours in those - at 4 minutes a time! :rolleyes:) Keep us updated on your progress.

Kev

[shortstripper]

Thanks, I will .... the engine's back on and now fitting fuel lines up. Hopefully with a motor up front I'll manage more than 4 minutes per flight ;)


SS

[BRL]

Update??????? :)

[kevmusic]

Yippee!!!!!!!! And I haven't passed anything, yet!

Nope folks, this is the year. I've got air law booked for Tuesday. Funds in place to re-start the PPL at Headcorn in August. I'll shoehorn the rest of the exams in as we go through the year (hopefully!)

Bloody air law. Revising it is like painting the Forth Bridge. Such an enormous sodding subject - especially for my poor, tiny, aged & beer-befuddled brain! :ugh:

Now, with any luck, a pic from earlier in my career with the afore-mentioned John Maclean, about to be tumble-dried in his Pitts.

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p88/kevmusic9/MelwithJohnMacleanhisS2AJuly81jpg.jpg

Kev.

(Now why didn't that come out as a picture......?)

[BRL]

The 'string' was too big so I went to the site the picture is on and copied the IMG tag from there!!!

[kevmusic]

Thanks again, BRL :)

[stiknruda]

Kev

If you are not too much larger than you were when JM flew you......

if you gain your PPL in 2007, I'll happily fly with you in my Pitts at no cost to yourself and you can determine the wash/tumble setting!

If you have a C/S prop difference trg "stamp", then you can log the time.

Stik

[kevmusic]

Stik, that's a great offer! I'll see what I can do about prop ticket. Our family loves holidays in Norfolk!

I'm a lucky boy really. The hair's all gone and the beard's grey but I'm barely a stone heavier than I was then - 12 and-a-half now.

[stiknruda]

Kev, my contact details are with you by PM.

Just get the licence!!

[Crash one]

Good luck Kev I hope you make it.
I could tell a similar tale from an ATC gliding course in 1956 to determined to finish the PPL now on a pension.
Point of interest, don't know your club policy but do you have the "PPL Confuser" for the exams? Well worth £20. My brain is also wore out at 67 but I got 96% on Air law, I'm not bragging, because I couldn't do it again without re-reading it all.

[high-hopes]

Kev

total time taken - 6 1/2 years
total hours taken 84 hours
total number of instructors 12
total number of flying schools 3
total numbers of aircraft types 11



At least you've spread it over 6 and a half years.
I already have :
10 instructors - 2 flying schools - 5 aircraft types - 46 hours

and I started flying in March 2006 ! :ok:

[TheKentishFledgling]

Check your PMs, kev :ok:

tKF

[gcolyer]

Bloody air law. Revising it is like painting the Forth Bridge. Such an enormous sodding subject


I would rather paint the Forth Bridge...much more fun :ugh:

[bonniejack]

I too am a longest ever student candidate. I also started at Sunderland back in 1976 on Victa Airtourer and then C150. Did 28hrs including 8 solo before ususal reasons meant I lost contact with flying. Also tried gliding but too much of a social event for me. 3 lessons in helicopter around 2002. Now returned to a real attempt to complete (funds in place) at Newcastle Flying School. Amazingly still with same instructor as back in '76. I am now 62 and not as super confident as back then but happy with progress so far. Today I think I would have solo'ed (again) but for never ending orbits for commercial traffic decided us to call it a day after just 2 landings in 40 mins. Weather looks poor for tomorrow so hope for good conditions at end of week

[kevmusic]

Passed Air Law!! Some folks may wonder what the fuss is about, but it's had my brain in knots for ages.

Bonniejack - nice to meet you! :ok: Glad I'm not the only one who's been burning this particular flame for ever and a day.....

Kev.

[bonniejack]

congratulations Kev. Air Law is a bit mind boggling. I am doing a NPPL, why do I want to know about documents for International flights. I have given myself a target date at end of next week to be ready for Air Law exam. I past them all 30 yrs ago but much has changed since then it seems. Which subject are you going for next?

[kevmusic]

Which subject are you going for next?

Human Perf. & Limits

[GullWing]

hi all,
as a student who started a PPL in spring last year and is getting worried that Ive only done 16 hours since, your posts come as quite a reassurance :)

While we are on-topic is there a time limit on how long you can take to do a PPL?

GW

[Crash one]

With reference to "topic" ???

[kevmusic]

Hi GullWing!
is there a time limit on how long you can take to do a PPL?

As long as your love affair with flying lasts! Seriously, there is a time-frame from commencement of training before you have to re-sit the ground exams but I'm not sure of the exact figures (and I've just passed Air Law! :O)

Good luck!

Kev.

[Mad Girl]

You get 18 months from the date of your first exam pass to complete the rest (without resits) and 24 months from then to complete the flying. i.e. 42 months in total.

Miss either of the dates and you're back to resitting the exams but I believe the flying hours still count. :O

[Yankee Delta Zulu]

Guys And Girls

What a boost reading this is, I started in 84 solo at Bagginton 86
Wife came along in 86
Started Glideing then at Bicester 87
Daughters arrived 88 and her sister in 92
Need I say more

After following this forum I recently had my intrest and resolve reborn by looking up old friends please check out skyblueaviation and hunterflyingclub

NOT a plug but these guys have been fantastic knowing that I have had some medical issues in the past and have pointed me down the NPPL route as a starting point. The quote being that if you "have a H.G.V. licence medical" you can have a medical for a NPPL. :)

I work as a H.G.V. driver :cool: The reason I post is to find out if any one else has taken this route to get then into the air and what pit falls should I be looking for.

Ian:D

[Dysonsphere]

I went down the NPPL route for medicial reasons and found out some of the NPPL medicial are less eyesight as I cant get a HGV medical and youre very unlikley to do it in the 35 hours min I took 50 and then found out I was OK for my class 2 my GP has misread an ECG a few years before and said I had a dicky heart turns out the CAA didnt agree now i have to upgrade th the PPL :ugh: :ugh: :ugh:

[kevmusic]

Got me Human Perf. & Limits. exam on Tuesday 27th...........

[kevmusic]

Got it!! :) Two down, four to go. (I know, plus RT.)

[kevmusic]

Passed Met on Tuesday. Counting down! (Could be starting flying July 29th......)

[stiknruda]

Keep at it and the ride in the Pitts could happen this summer!


Stik

[kevmusic]

Well, my lessons are all booked for the summer, now. I'll be starting with 2-3 hrs. on July 30th. A few days ago, May 23rd, saw the 26th anniversary of my first flying lesson, the birth of the love of my life, in a Rheims Cessna 152 Aerobat at Sunderland. The lesson included a demo loop during which I used a 4-letter expletive with an instructor I'd just met for the first time! :O

All of which led me to think about the first airfield I knew. I suppose when something is gone for ever you miss it more than if you simply move away. I only knew Sunderland for a few months but it had more atmosphere for me than any of the other airfields I've spent time on: Perranporth, Manston or even lovely Headcorn. There was something about the hangar. To wander around such an interesting higgeldy-piggledy array of aircraft: some the mounts of millionaires, others more prosaic. A Kingair here, a Currie Wot there. Lots of Cessnas and Pipers. Is that a Taylor Monoplane? And at the back, dusty hangar queens whose days of cavorting in the sunlit clouds seemed long passed. It was always quiet in there. Nesting sparrows twittering, echoing in the roof, someone dropping a spanner somewhere; even the sound of an aircraft bursting into life on the apron hardly seemed to disturb the stillness. Is there something about one's first hangar that makes one go all misty-eyed?

I've just realised what a complete turnip I must now appear to anyone 'from the outside', for want of a better word! :)

[Stevemcmli]

I completely understand Kevmusic. My magical place was a hangar at Booker in the mid sixties, just like your hangar, birds in the rafters; even more than the sounds, the smell of dope and fuel and oil.
A dismantled Gander Dower Airways Rapide on one corner; a Mew Gull in pieces in another (G-AEXF). A variety of Miles, Beagle and Auster products plus the plane of my adolecent dreams, a V tailed Bonanza (G-ATII). Across the way would be Bert Goodchild grafting in the PPS Hangar on a Fokker Eindekker replica (ex-Blue Max film) or a Spit.........

[whizzylizzy]

Kevmusic

Whatever happend to Bunty, Al Taps, Bubble, Baz and "the boss"? C1985/6 at Manston for me, my word, how time flys! One person I know made a living from his ventures, a Cadet you may recall at the time, called Richard Matthews. Flew with the Red arrows, then with the USAF on exchange flying the Stelth. Google should throw his name up!

For me, PPL after two or three years on and off, money, time, weather, family, guess you could say life... Finished however back in 1990 flew a bit, another long lay off ,again the above reasons. Fly mostly now in the USA, rude not to with the strength of the pound and all the other positive aspects. However, revalitdated my PPL at Headcorn ( and flying soon again from Headcorn ), a gem in the heart of the Kent countryside, little taxi time to strip, few in the way of restrictions in the local area and once clear of the circut straight into training area. The atmosphere professional but relaxed and the vast array of visiting craft during the Summer months.

Keep up the good work and message me when you start flying, a shared trip or two I suspect on completion.

Whizzy.

[kevmusic]

Hi Whizzy,

Now you're talking - talk about blasts from the past! Al Tapsell is Boss of 616 VGS, Henley, I think. As for the rest, I just don't know. They were all a great crew. Great laughs and great flying. Funny, I seem to have better 'fun' memories of the old Mk3 days, before the Grobs came in.......

I think Chris Smith became Boss after the old Bill retired. now, I can't place you, Whizzy. You were obviously there & I must have known you. Help me out!

[davidatter708]

Well done Kev glad to hear your still fighting for it I know some ppl hu have ppl and havent used it for about 2 yrs.
May I be really cheeky stiknruda any chance of a flight in your pitts:p.
Dave

[kevmusic]

Ye gods! When I was 17 I took apart the bottom end of an 'A' series engine, replaced a big end and de-coked the top, all after school. I had O-level physics. I built model gliders to my own design. I lapped up Ps of F when I was gliding. Of all the ground subjects, I'd have thought 'The Aeroplane - Technical' to be a breeze. So I got stuck into Thom and...........well, hmm. It's hard. And there's a lot of it. In fact, I'm having almost as much of a problem with it as bl&&dy Air Law! Then I sat at the PC and took the OAT CD database of questions on the subject - all 276 of them - and got 74%!:uhoh: (then I took the Airquiz exam and got 88%, but I'm still not happy.)

And to cap all that, the bl:mad:din' jetstream is off course - got its vectors all wrong, or something - and all these storms and wind and rain look set to be with us for the rest of the summer. Oh woe! :{

[shortstripper]

Ahhh! welllll, Kev ........

You're obviously a lightweight and not of the "right stuff"! I'd stripped and rebuilt an "A" series engine by 14 (and motorbikes before that) :E :p ;)

SS

[kevmusic]

Alright, smart@rse!! :)

[kevmusic]

...and the funny thing is, I don't feel in the least excited. I feel just kind of neutral; in a limbo. This bloody thing I started 26 years ago and the countdown I laboriously began 16 months ago - this huge ambition is nearly upon me.........and I feel completely flat. For the last umpteen years walking the dogs has been time for a bit of peaceful reflection or, more often than not, fantasizing about flying. Now it's zilch. The barking frenzy at the front door used to be accompanied by a mental strapping-in scenario and the walk itself an aerobatic detail. Now I just walk up the road and that's it. A bit boring, really.

To add to this apoplectic apathy is the latest tentative forecast for Monday which runs along the lines of heavy and possibly prolonged showers and strong winds. Hopefully, the front that this describes will run through a few hours earlier but hey; I've waited this long - another day or two won't make much difference.:hmm:

Kev.

[HappyTrails]

I thought my 4 years and needing to take Air law for the third time was a record (have passed it twice before), but there's no planning for weather where on average I lose two out of every three booked lessons.

[christimson]

Studying airlaw right now. The hardest thing is fitting the study around work and family commitments. By the time I get to study I'm usually too knackered to absorb anything.

Frustrating. :ugh:

[kevmusic]

For the first time in over 4 years I took the controls and got my backside in the air! The PPL has re-started! I've now added just over 4 hours - yesterday was general handling and circuits, today was PFLs and stalls (in various configurations) and spins. Oops, I mean, incipient spins. :E All in a rather quaint Cub, whose tacho reads backwards! Tomorrow, it's a couple of X-countrys, and I've homework to do. Must fly!!:):)

Kev.

[kevmusic]

Well, the summer's over and with it, my indulgence of a 'flying course' of two or three times a week; and now I'm in a gap (due to instructor timetable overload) and back on the old weekly treadmill later this month. There have been ups and downs - confidence-boosting good periods punctuated by humiliating mistakes! :O

To finish the block of lessons though, I was sent off in the Cub on my own to the south of Headcorn to practise steep turns and PFLs and to rejoin. First time I've ever done that - i.e. out of the circuit solo. It was great fun and the descent, rejoin and radio calls were all smooth and right on the money. I'm beginning to feel like a pilot! (Cue the next gaffe :})

Kev.

[Alogan]

Well done Kev, I thought my PPL training was long (2.5 years and counting, although hopefully finished very soon). Persistence is always rewarded in the end though. Flying solo cross-countries is great, makes you feel like a real pilot. I havent quite done them all yet (2 more to do), but I'm told Air Law is the hardest written exam, and its definitely the hardest one I've done so far (Aeroplane Technical wasnt too bad).

[kevmusic]

A short triangular course - Headcorn, Southend, Damyn's Hall and back. My first trip for some 6 weeks or so. Now, as I want to do all my flying in the Cub, and it has no VOR, a chat with my instructor a few weeks ago has swayed me onto the NPPL route. Unfortunately, the Cub doesn't have a DI either. (Am I doing it the hard way, or what?)

Anyway, as far as today's trip was concerned, I did the plog ok, did the walk-round and strapped in. There was quite a strong crosswind so we talked about that, mentally honing my rusty skills, started up and taxied out. Lined up and did the take off. No dramas. Climbed out aligned with 29's centreline and headed in a bit of a choppy climb for Stapleford where the 1st leg was due to begin. Pre-selected my heading, turned over the town and settled on course.

And that's where my problems began. Basically, I flew rubbish. Courses all over the shop, levels all over the shop. Loads of chatter on the radio, most of which was incomprehensible to me and which did a good job of drowning out my instructor. (No squelch on this radio!). By the end of the last leg I was almost on the point of throwing it all in and letting him take me back to the field. Couldn't find features to track to, couldn't see other traffic til I followed my instructor's finger.

This is about my sixth navex and I'm beginning to think I've got a real problem with it. There's not one of these where I've come away feeling any sense of pride or accomplishment.

Work to do. :(

[modelman]

Kev
You some kind of masochist?Tailwheel/no DI/steam COMMS/protracted training schedule?
Don't think you inherently have a nav problem,just seems you are handicapping yourself unnecessarily.Why don't you switch to a trike spamcan (you already know how to handle a taildragger,unlike me),that has a decent radio,a DI and is probably cheaper than a Cub.Although you can't track a VOR for your GFT,you will still have to be able to get a position fix using one (or maybe not now you decided NPPL-but still handy to be familar with it).
At these prices,why make life difficult for yourself-you can always fly more esoteric types after you have qualified?

Good luck
MM

[TheKentishFledgling]

Kev, check your PMs.

tKF

[kevmusic]

The situation is not getting better. I didn't mention that I had changed instructors due to days off/availability issues. The new guy gave me problems in the air, as I've related elsewhere (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=296807) which I found I couldn't live with. So I'm re-arranging my day off to go back with instructor 1, who's been my main man along.

Now it turns out the slot he had free on my day off isn't actually all that free at all, and he can only give me 2 flights between now and Christmas! So all that currency I worked at during the summer is running into the sand. It's nobody's fault but my own. It's a corner I've painted myself into by wanting to stay with a particular instructor and a particular aircraft. There's only one Cub on the fleet, and only two instructors for it. The other taildragger is the Jodel D150 but after the Cub I don't like it, instructor 2 can't instruct on it and instructor 1 has painful neck problems with its springy undercarriage, so that's out.

I enjoy flying the Cub - I'm beginning to get a feel for it, and there's only one instructor I can fly with who can instruct on it, and that's the situation. But my currency's going to suffer until the New Year. One of our community has offered to help me out locally (thanks Ed! :ok: - I'll be in touch) but otherwise it's just a case of biding my time. Again.

Kev.

[kevmusic]

Isn't that what there is on bits of software after you've bu**ered it all up, say, "Yes, please!" and click the button? Well that's what I've done. Modelman, thank you! Much head-scratching and deep thought has put me back onto the PPL proper on C152s (or 172 as for today).

Yes, it was a heap easier. The day was as calm as a milkpond, which helped, but after the skittish Cub, the 172 seemed to be flying on rails. She settled bang on altitude and course, all slow and stately, just like an airliner (:}). (Lot of pull needed for the flare though :eek:) I still made c*ck-ups but they were comfortable c*ck-ups, and I felt a whole lot happier today.

Next lesson in a fortnight. :)

[First_Principal]

Kev, I've enjoyed reading your thread - good on you for not giving up!

Flying, or at least being taught to fly is just like everything else in life - you'll get on with some but not others so I was unsurprised to read of your issues with a particular instructor. I was however impressed to read that you managed to put it across in a way that ensured you remained on good terms - a good mark for yourself & both instructors I think. Ultimately it would be a sad world if we were all the same so I'm sure instructor 2 will have other students who prefer their style of teaching....

That aside I was interested in the rest of your thread relating to your trials and tribulations along the path of life, and how long the flying thing has taken you to date.

For what it's worth I just checked my logbook to find that it took me around 20 years and 4 months to get my PPL. My first real flight was in a glider more than 30 years ago, from the same field that I now fly my own plane from. I didn't particularly enjoy that flight (the Pilot felt the need to do some aero's just to show me what it could do :uhoh: :yuk: ) but some 10 years later, and in a different part of the country I began learning to fly in earnest. Perhaps unlike you I was not as constricted with funds and so was flying regularly but ran into other issues with the CAA. Given I was also wanting to fly fling-wing, and do so commercially, there was a bit of an uproar over my colour-vision deficiencies. Given I am no great fan of authority and rulers that appear to offer more hindrance than help I left the country entirely and went on to do different things.

Back in the original country, fast-forward to fifteen or so years later and one day when I had been working very hard - I was pulling out of a customers car park in order to go into town to do more work when I made a flash decision to in fact turn the other way and go out to the airport and see about flying again. Things hadn't been going well in other aspects of life so I suppose I felt like trying something different, also I don't particularly like having unfinished business laying around.

As luck would have it I struck just the right time and an instructor was available to take me up that very day - in fact within a few minutes of my fronting up to the place. Over the space of a few months I spent quite a lot of time and money flying different aircraft with different instructors, working my way towards completing my PPL. I passed most of the written papers within a day, enough to begin the final phase of cross-country flights before the revision and test. However just like you I found days when I seemed to go backwards, where instructors would appear to contradict each other, and where things just didn't seem to go right. This culminated in an incident involving a rather large aircraft (starlifter I seem to recall) vs myself in a Robin - hardly a fair match methinks! Whilst in the subsequent fallout the club was very good about it, and ATC took most of the responsbility, it was really the end for me at that time. A very efficient organisation but I'd never felt particularly 'at home' there - probably very good if you were a career and/or overseas student but somehow not really 'friendly' for the want of a better way of putting it. No old couches to sit around and chat to old-timers, or, er, chat up the new instructors/students :E. So exit my second go at getting some sort of flying licence.

Move on another few years and a friend invited me to come over to another airfield where there was some model flying going on - he was, and is, into model aircraft in a big way. As it turns out I'm not and in a short time I was not insignficantly bored watching all these grown men & women tinker around with their toys. However as I was peering over to the other side of the field I could see a few 'real' aircraft parked out on the tarmac in front of the old control tower. This was an ex-military field that, as far as I knew, had closed completely so my curiosity was piqued and, not being one to let things get in my way I jumped in the car and went over to investigate.

Much like the last time I did something like this it turned out that there was a flying school there, and yes I could credit some of the time I had already, oh and also how about a quick circuit or two now? So I jumped into a 172 and did a pretty awful circuit with the duty instructor - in my defence I'd flown mostly low-wing Pipers four years earlier and it was a rather blustery day so I had a case of good ol' Cessna float on landing... nonetheless I can't have been too bad 'cos I was invited to come back again :)

Right from the start at this school I felt at home. Despite the fact that it was - and is - a privately-owned school rather than a club I felt the atmosphere was much more like a club than I'd experienced previously. Also it was smaller and it didn't take long for me to get to know everyone and vice-versa. Given my prior experience, some money and quite a bit of patience on the schools behalf (bearing in mind I'm getting to be a crusty old b'stard by now!) I managed to pass my PPL a little over 20 years after my first formal lesson.

One of the delights of completing my training at this school is that my flying didn't end with the completion of the PPL. Given some of the things I've done in life I found I was able to contribute in other ways than just monetarily. Not only did this help others and assist in keeping the place running smoothly but it also demonstrated to me, once again, that you will often get out of things what you put into them. I'd like to think that I've forged some life-long friendships here, and certainly I've had a much more varied and fulfilling flying career than I might otherwise have had :ok:.

Nowadays I do a little aircraft maintenance, have my own 'plane and regularly fly others. I've managed to get ratings in various craft including two or three taildraggers - one of which is a largish twin-radial taildragger - and of course that coveted initial MER. While I'm unable to get an IR due to the colour vision issues I guess what this little saga has demonstrated is that, with a bit of persistence, some luck and good people around you almost anything is possible. So whilst I can't beat your 26 years I will be looking forward to reading of your escapades up to the PPL test flight, and what you do subsequently. Keep up the posting and don't let any (flying!) opportunities go by!

FP.

[kevmusic]

FP - thanks for a really interesting and encouraging post. :ok: It's good to hear from guys or gals who've been keeping the flame alive in their own minds for however many years and then finally doing it. It can be really tiring and depressing at times but determination will out. :D

Go on then; what's that radial taildragger twin? Beech, Lockheed? Dakota :eek:?!

[First_Principal]

Hi Kev, I enjoyed reading your saga so much I thought I'd reciprocate with my little trip along the way - and to demonstrate that there is (interesting) life after the PPL as well. It seems so many people drop off the landscape at that stage, which is a pity. Quite possible I will too at some point but in the meantime one needs to make the most of the opportunity.

Re the radial taildragger, as it happens it is a Dakota, a 1944 C47/DC3 in fact. Probably one of the lowest-hour DC3's in the world with less than 20,000 hours on the airframe. I could write quite a story on my little path to getting the type rating on that alone. Suffice it to say that it has been one of the better experiences of my life. Although I feel like I've been flying for years (and have in a way!) I'm a comparatively low-time Pilot and to have such an opportunity has been fantastic. She is a wonderful machine to fly, you really feel the history and ambience of yesteryear when sitting up front.

I hope to continue flying in her a wee bit, as long as I can be useful to the team at least, but one problem of course is that most other things pale in comparison really so it'd be difficult, if not impossible, to come close to that experience. Latterly I read somewhere that the Lancaster Battle of Britain Memorial Flight pilots keep current on a DC3, which prompted me to take a look at what Lancs were flying around the place (I've read a lot of the stories over the years so they have a special place in my life too). However it seems there's only two and if there's one thing for sure a very ordinary pilot from an out-of-the-way place like me is not going to get a crack at one of them!!:{

Funny thing but I've no particular hankering to fly a Spitfire/Hurricane/747 or anything like that - something people have asked me in the past. Dunno why, guess it fits in with what I was talking about previously and peoples many differences. Mind you if an offer came my way :)!

Anyway I'm waffling and getting away from the gist of your thread, I'll be keen to read of your next experiences...

FP.

[kevmusic]

8 days and counting! :)

[kevmusic]

Well, Christmas and this new year have been pants as far as opportunities to fly have gone, what with weather and various health factors, so on Thursday, I had my second lesson of this year. The nav is a slow and painful struggle. It's frustrating because I can see no earthly reason why I should be bad at it. Okay, my mental arithmetic is a bit shaky but that shouldn't result in inaccurate flying, slow take-up, cockpit disorganisation and nervy r/t, should it?

Now, sadly I have a lovely but disabled wife, who has major problems with walking, balance and general weakness, so I have to do the lion's share of housework, shopping etc.. Additionally, we have to continue to make a good income. And so it is, that my mind is not always clear and rested for flying. My instructor knows all this, and remarked that, in the circumstances, I should just accept the fact that I'm going to be slow with this part of the syllabus, and live with it. He said he knows I'm not doing as well as I can, and that it's frustrating for me and frustrating for him. I think these are wise words. This concept enables me to lower my expectations and be happier with my progress.

As it happens, last Thursday's lesson was a little better. My instructor sat quiet for a lot of the time and that gave me some confidence. I took some good decisions. The r/t was still a major problem, though. The route took us into Biggin's overhead and we contacted approach as we passed Paddock Wood. His dialogue with us left me spluttering for words as most of what he said was completely incomprehensible to me. My instructor had to deal with most of the r/t with Biggin. Half the time I didn't even know that the controller was talking to us!

Still, overall, some improvement. Next week, weather permitting, I'll be in the circuit solo again, in preparation for a solo navex!:eek:

Kev.

[Lister Noble]

Kev,
RT can be daunting,esp if it is some US militarylady speaking at typewriter speed.
Just ask them to repeat slowly.
Also speak really slowly and clearly yourself and they may realise you are not a whiz kid pro.
Lister

[kevmusic]

People have been complaining about the weather - with good reason - but I was lucky in that of three lessons scheduled this month I was able to fly two; slots between the clag, rain and wind coinciding with my times! :D In fact, I could've flown the other one but declined, for reasons I'll describe later.

I mentioned above that I was at a stage prior to solo navs (like you, G-EMMA, n'est ce pas?) and the work was to bring me back to solo standard first. Well, first lesson this month was out of the circuit and up to 3'500 for steep turns and stalls. We did those but I still have the glider pilot's habit of waiting for the nose to start dropping before checking back on the stick - in something with a bl&&dy great donk up front that happens a good deal quicker and I end up looking at the ground before hauling back.

On this detail Bruce demonstrated an interesting quirk of the Cessna breed. He set us up with full flap at a fairly slow speed and in a gentle starboard turn. "Imagine", he said, "That you're doodling along in a shallow turn, pointing out features to your passengers, the stall warner's not working, and your airspeed is slowly bleeding off.......". I was looking, as a dutiful passenger, out of the right window at some hypothetically interesting ground feature, when WHOOSH! The left wing suddenly fell away and we were in an incipient spin to the left. Interesting! A great lesson, and one I shan't forget in a hurry. Particularly telling was his saying, "..and I've seen people do this..."

Next lesson it was blowing a hooley but at least it was straight down the runway, at well over twenty knots and set to strengthen. "We could go up", says Bruce, "if you like being tossed around like a cork in the ocean; but I don't really think you'd get much benefit from it"

"I thought you liked flying in these conditions", someone else chipped in.

"I do. But when someone else is paying I need a better reason than the fact that I enjoy it!"

Thank you, Bruce! In fact, I was tempted, just for the experience. And I have absolute faith in Bruce's own experience and judgement, so it would have been sheer fun. But the pragmatics of cost benefit had to hold sway and I declined the opportunity. Perhaps some other day.

And so to last Thursday's lesson. Rain had been the predominant feature and as I ran through the mental list of reasons why my lesson could be cancelled on arrival a waterlogged runway figured large. And so it was. But that didn't mean cancellation - no solo flying for me, but circuits with no touches - climbing away from the hold-off. Again, interesting stuff which I've never done before.

During the detail Bruce took control and said, "I just want to find out the power setting to maintain height at 50 knots with 30 deg flap for an exercise I have in mind". That worked out at about 1750 so he got me to do a normal approach and as we got to the flare he took control and set 1750 rpm. Then he demoed weaving up the runway from side to side at about 8-10' agl - low speed handling just above the ground. Then I had a go. Shallow turns from one side of the runway to the other just above the ground concentrate the mind! I pulled back too far and ballooned or not enough and touched with one wheel. Another circuit and another go. Better this time. Kept it level during the turns and one touch (left wheel) before "Full power!" and off again. Great fun!

[radicalrabit]

According to my log book The last time i flew was a PA38 out of Manchester International in 1984, With hour long lessons being stretched or cancelled as we waited for the heavies to go or stop arriving long enough to finally get down the runway and special vfr departure to the south.

For some strange reason I put women ahead of flying, and then cars and then kids and then Training in Computers, And the cost of getting a commercial divers qualification and suddenly 24 years have gone by.

The smell of aviation Fuel that hung in the air All through my RAF days was so addictive I knew at some point I was going to have to get myself back into flying. Sitting by the fence in the pub garden watching things come and go down 27 r/l just isnt enough is it?

Just as improbable as it seems, I happened to help someone one day who had some pretty nasty situations going on in her life and she found that sitting by the fence in the pub garden watching the Manchester traffic land and take off wasnt enough either. So what did she do then? She put a deposit down on Piper Cherokee, sold her house, and started coaching me for the exams while we wait patiently (impatiently) for me to get a medical and for the cherokee to arrive.
Some time in the next month I am off to see Derek, Mentioned here before somewhere, for a full week of 1-2-1 tuition and study for all the exams, and after that I am going to fly every day until the weather stops me or the instructor hits me and says "bog -off..."

But.....
We have decided that it really would be good to fly somewhere else, like France or Italy , so she is on the look out for something bigger.. and when I have finished writing this we are off to Barton to look at a Cherokee Six.
Run before you can walk ? Maybe.

We have other plans for the future, a bit hampered by finances for the time being but I know how lucky I was to get this leg up and back into flying again.

I am looking forward to sharing this little Cherokee with anyone else who wants to fly it and maybe help to get someone else who otherwise wouldnt have been able to afford to fly the hours they need, one good turn and all that ..
I found the information, feed back, instruction help advice and general comment on the forum an invaluable asset and a the best free entertainment ever. The SOAP like sagas of some of the threads, and the friction between contributors is amazing, Where would my life be without the daily fix from Pprune.:ok:

[vanHorck]

Kevmusic where are you!?

[kevmusic]

Here! :p

(South east UK....Kent, to be exact.)

[kevmusic]

Why do you ask, as a matter of interest, vanH? :confused: So you know where not to fly?! :}

[vanHorck]

My wife to be ( a struggling PPL student ) and myself (an MEP) enjoy your stories so much and we want to continue folling your progress!

Somuchso someone should make a movie about you!

Please keep up the postings!

(and if ever i m in Kent you can come fly a bit of Seneca with me!

Thanks a million!

Bert

[kevmusic]

Aww - now you've got me blushing! I've got another lesson booked for Thursday and the weather looks ok to get me in trim for solo navex, so I'll be posting a report of that. Though it'll probably be pretty boring from the reader's point of view - I hope!

And the Seneca sounds great..........yes please! :)

[kevmusic]

I've had two successive lessons with good weather so here's a brief follow up.

Last Thursday (the 3rd) it was get-me-back-to-solo-standard time. It had been some time since I last flew solo - August, in fact, so I needed some catching up to do. There was an interesting crosswind from the north across 29 and there was fair weather cu well above circuit height. Well, the session went pretty uneventfully - I did a few with Bruce, then he sent me up on my own. For some reason it has taken until now for me to really appreciate the difference in performance from two-up to one-up. 'YL shot into the air and I was at 500' well before I could turn onto crosswind leg, due to the noise-sensitive farm west of 29.

One thing about the session bugged me. I kept having trouble lining up my final turn. It wasn't until I dissected and analysed in the following couple of days that I remembered the same problem from gliding. For some reason I don't yet understand, it seems easier to turn final with the crosswind behind you than the other way. That day, LH circuits were in force, I was flying base leg into the crosswind, and my final turns were all mushy and wandering - had the circuit been RH the turn would have been into the crosswind: tighter, crisper and neatly lined up.

Yesterday, the 10th, was a red letter day for me :ok:. Yesterday, after briefing, I checked out 'LY for the first flight of the day, wiped the dew off the canopy, started her up and taxied to the pumps. After fuelling (my only contact with Bruce after the briefing) I lined up on 29 and took off. I did one touch-and-go and then it was off!! to follow the railway line east, in time-honoured fashion, with a climb to 2'300 to Ashford. The feeling of active calm, if you can go with that, was unique and truly memorable. Really wonderful. A quick circuit of the town with that enormous retail park, then back along the line, descending to 1500' by the big wood, then back into the circuit at Headcorn. Three more touch-and-goes then it's another climb along the railway to the west this time. Past Staplehurst, Marden and finally Paddock Wood, where there is also a railway heading north. Where this northern branch leaves the east-west line there is an enormous quarter-circle of concrete which gleams almost white from the ground. A very useful landmark! Another turn over the town and I'm back on an easterly course to bring me back to Headcorn.

A feature of my circuits on this and earlier sessions was that they seemed to be too tight, resulting in very low power settings to get me down at the threshold. I think it is not a good thing to be regularly placed at one extreme of your options, so I had been thinking about this on my flight and positioned myself straight onto the downwind leg at a wider point than before. My angle from the threshold was much more comfortable this time, and I was so chuffed at this I forgot my final call! My only R/T cock-up of the day. :sad:

It was indescribable to be in command of that flight. Despite the potentially frantic workloads of a not-yet-PPL it was peaceful. And it was great to have all that space on the seat beside me to put my stuff! I felt like a real pilot for the first time, and it is a significant milestone from when I started, nearly 27 years ago. Next week it's a proper, real solo navex! :} :uhoh:

[corsair]

Keep it up. I used to think I held the record. It took me 7 1/2 years to get my PPL. However I flew consistently every year with gaps of months due to the fact that a weeks pay equalled one hours flying. :{

But you'll never beat the record I've set. 30 years to my first flying job!:eek:

[vanHorck]

thx Kev ! Keep it up! and at the end... make your postings into a book!

Bert

[TheOddOne]

But you'll never beat the record I've set. 30 years to my first flying job!

Blimey! Makes my 26 years (thought that was long enough) not so long after all...

Cheers,
TheOddOne

[terrysunderland]

Greetings............I am Kevins' (considerably) older brother! I still live in Sunderland from whence Kevin took his first little hops off the ground al those years ago.
NB Sunderland Airport is now a giant Nissan car plant but with a Grade 2 listed pre-war hanger.

My first flight was around 1957. I was at an ATC summer camp at RAF Oakington. I recall that day now just as clearly as if it were yesterday. Late afternoon on a glorious sunny day.

Kitted out with my parachute and clambered into the Chipmunks cockpit. "Fancy some aerobatics?" I heard in my headset! Then followed the most ecstatic half hour of my life.

Forgive me for that off-topic indulgence!

Alas, finances and a demanding job meant my later PPL ambitions being shelved, but I keep my fingers crossed for Kevin, and live flying vicariously through him!

Quickly relate a recent commercial flight in Bangladesh last year. In the shuttle between Dhaka and Sylhet, just flying at around 2000' for 300 miles, we saw nothing but water, horizon to horizon. Quite an unnerving experience coming in to land on what appeared to be the only dry bit in the country!

[kevmusic]

Hi Terry - welcome to PPRuNe in general and my thread in particular! :)

[Piper.Classique]

Look mate, if you don't have a medical issue with a class 2, do a full PPL, and why ever not in the cub? Stick an icom in it to do the VOR fix if you have to, or whatever it needs. I fly all over the place on a magnetic compass, no nav aids, and that means no GPS, no ADF or VOR, just a paper map and a compass and watch. If you do the NPPL you are stuffed for touring. Don't worry if the nav takes a while to get, you will be a better pilot by the time you finish. Mistakes are learning experiences, get them in now while you have mother's little helper on board. You don't need a glass cockpit to enjoy your flying. And when you have done it, in a real aeroplane, come to france and you can fly my cub with the big engine!:)

[kevmusic]

Hi P.C.. There are Q.I. and instrument-fit issues with the Super Cub here, which is owned by the Tiger Club. Otherwise, I'd be there!

Winds with more knottage than Flying Orders allowed for saw off my solo nav attempt on Thurs. Fingers crossed for next week! :hmm:

[kevmusic]

Turned up Thursday (9th) hopefully for the solo navex, but vis. was marginal and I reminded Bruce that I'd done a briefing and flight with VORs only once, 5 years ago and then, not very well. So we briefed for that. The flight was hard work, we followed and intersected radials all over Kent; I kind of got the idea but a bit of brainstorming in the next few days should get it into my skull.

'YL was off the line so we had 'IE, an Aerobat :E. After the Vor tracking Bruce said, "We'll just pop a few aeros before we head back". So we had a loop, a stall turn and an aileron roll all off the first dive. Neat. Then I had a go at a loop. Excellent!! First time I've been aeroed in over twenty years!

Heading back to the airfield Bruce told me to maintain height (about 2'000) until well downwind. Then he said, "You can plan your descent now; and you have an engine failure!", while pulling carb heat and throttle. Well, I do love a challenge. We were fairly wide, but had plenty of height so I manouvered round the village of Headcorn to line up for 11. "If it was me I'd be pointing at the runway about now", mused Bruce. When Bruce muses, you do it, and I did. Height still looked good so this one-time gliding instructor felt confident enough of whacking on a bit of flap. After another minute, I reached for the flap lever again and Bruce said, "Putting on 40 degrees of flap in these is like pushing the basement button on a lift". I left the flaps alone. But not for long! The airfield wasn't getting any closer - and we were getting much lower! "Let's get the flap up"! Rate of descent increased momentarily but the situation was un-saveable. I'd cocked up! :O:O Glider pilot fails to get back! We needed a lot of power to drag us back in. And we'll draw a veil over the flapless landing.........

A bl**dy good lesson, well learnt. I need a few more of those. :ok:

[Piper.Classique]

I reached for the flap lever again
Ah, Kevmusic, flaps are a bit one way. Sideslip, dear boy. You can vary the angle and come back to wings level if it looks like overcooking. Gliders have airbrakes, remember, in and out like a throttle (bet you thought I was going to say something else there)
And a slipping turn and a fishtail if you are _really_ high.
Happy pilot here who has a day's initiation flights lined up at our open day tommorrow, so I get to fly the aeroplane instead of watching my rather capable students have all the fun.

[kevmusic]

First solo navex last Thursday (29th June). Weather was good and I was primed for Headcorn - Deanland - Rye - Headcorn. Must admit to a few butterflies before this one. But as ever, Bruce's confidence in me to do something was sufficient to make me believe that I can do it, and all qualms were set aside. I am enjoying the now-familiar feeling of getting the aircraft ready on my own. I know that my peace of mind and my safety will depend alone on my pre-flight checks and that lends a certain frisson to proceedings.

The main part of the flight itself was uneventful, to the point that even the forecast wind vector behaved itself. Which is a bit of a pity really, because I didn't get to practise corrections. Nevertheless, all landmarks and turning points came up on the nose when expected and it was all very satisfying.

Got back in the circuit and settled down as downwind no.2 to another Cessna. Yet another Cessna arrived behind me. And so I trundled on, and for some reason, went quite wide before turning base. That was just as well because we didn't seem to be descending. By the time I turned final I was still at 900'! How some about flap then, Kev? :ugh:. In short order! Two stages. Down we came with just a dribble of power and the picture started looking a lot better. Chap behind me called, 'G-XXXX final; prepared to go around'. I guess my wide base had brought him a little closer to me. I ended up dropping into the field with a rather steeper descent than I was prepared for and ballooned a little on the flare, but I sorted it out and kissed the grass nicely - eventually! And I thought to gently turn through the markers to get off the runway sharpish for the benefit of the chap behind me.

So, I was pleased with the navex itself but a little alarmed that a few weeks off had made me forget to add flap when reducing power and speed at the start of base leg. :eek:

Today's lesson was a dual and some more work on diversions. Lovely day, great vis., no wind. First diversion I chose a point rather too close and pressurised myself. For the next two, I elected to divert from points 6 or 7 miles away which gave me much more time. Managed much better with all my pens and pencils this time, too. I do find it incredible that nav tasks in most trainers are accomplished by means of a juggling act of clipboard, chart and assorted pens, rulers and pencils, all on a small area of lap!

Another solo navex next week.

[InTraining]

I too was bitten by the flying bug back in 1987 and racked up first solo after 8 hours and 1 week of flying. Gained RPPL (area ristricted ppl now GFPT in OZ) in 1988 and after 115 hours (about 40 hours sight seeing in training areas) I have finally gained my PPL a few days ago. :)

[kevmusic]

Yaay!! :D:D Let me be the first to congratulate you, IT. :ok:

[kevmusic]

They say that aviation accidents are caused more by a combination of disparate random factors coming together, rather than one straightforward cause. Well, I feel that about actually getting to fly. The number of things that have to go my way before I can fly is mind-boggling. If it's not running the kids somewhere (kids! - one's 21, the other's 18) it's the weather playing silly b*ggers. Anyway, I last flew exactly a month ago and it wasn't very frequent before that.

Nevertheless, the right incantations were spoken today and all looked good for my second solo navex: Headcorn - Canterbury - Rochester - Headcorn. Bruce thought about my lack of currency but decided I was safe, even with a 10 knot crosswind. So, off I went. I must say I wasn't really nervous but I felt rather rusty during taxy-out.

I climbed out to Staplehurst to set out from there as usual but after a few minutes things just did not feel right. I knew that after a few minutes I had to negotiate the gliding field at Challock, but there was no sign. I knew I was heading eastwards- that was ok - but I had the distinct feeling my actual course was wrong somehow. Was the wind stronger than forecast? Did I set the DI wrongly? I now think it was a case of flying to the wrong numbers on the DI because I ended up a few miles further north than I should have been. I wasn't unduly worried because I knew if I couldn't find Canterbury I had real problems! Canterbury duly came up; a few minutes late after my unplanned diversion. So, mentally red-faced I settled down for my next leg, to Rochester.

Much better now. I picked up on my cues early and kept bang on track. Now came the dreaded radio call. I'd been rehearsing this for weeks and the moment had arrived for me to sign off from Headcorn and introduce myself to Rochester. A little screwing up of courage.....then I did it. Smooth as silk! I arrived over the airfield about a minute later than advertised but I didn't think they'd mind that. I was feeling good now. (Note to glider pilots - there was some stonking lift about. At one point my stubby little Cessna was shooting up at about 7-800 fpm. I was so-o-o-o tempted to chop the power and start circling....)

Turned onto course for Headcorn and once again checked everything I could to establish myself. In no time I could see the airfield and I was back in the circuit. I remembered flap this time (:}) and the crosswind gave me a quick ride down base leg so I turned final with quite a lot of height. Another stage of flap, chop power.......looking good, still a bit high, let's try some sideslip (but be careful, there's always windshear on 29 approach) - much better now, and a comfortable landing if not as graceful as I'd have liked.

A couple of points. The unsure-ness of my position on the first leg was not a great cause of worry to me because I knew my basic orientation was good and I knew I could recognise all the local landmarks. Cheating I know! but it was a get out of jail free card. Also, where bumpy, thermic weather used to cause me huge hassle on navexes, now serves to make them more interesting and lively.

And so we go up another rung on the great ladder. Next week it's practice for QXC.

[kevmusic]

do you know the QXC route yet?

Goodwood and Lydd. I've looked them up in Pooley's and there are an awful lot of runways to mix up at Goodwood! :eek:

[kevmusic]

I've been here before. When I was learning to glide as a prospective C.I. with the Space Cadets at Manston I had a problem with what we called 'medium' cable breaks, or the procedure for recovery from a cable break at medium level, 200-400 feet. The size and shape of the field meant that an S-turn was necessary, and I just couldn't hack it. I was at it for ages. The days in between each weekend were full of self-doubt and angst. The Boss was my instructor and the less I could do it, the more exasperated he became. The more exasperated he became the worse I became, and so on. The classic vicious circle. Well, I cracked it eventually - I forget how, but it got to the stage where I could do it in my sleep.

Fast forward to now and the same situation is developing, but on a larger scale.

The day started well. I've just got my little Spit through its MOT and we had a bracing run through the countryside down to Headcorn with the breeze in my face (and down my collar!). I was there bright and early to check out 'LY and with my planning all ready from work I'd done over breakfast. We briefed for the flight, strapped in and started up. That's when things started ever so slowly to slide.

I overlooked priming before start-up. I've never done that before! She still started. Never mind. Oops! that was close - nearly clipped a holding point sign with my wing tip. Had two goes at lining up properly before take off (I mean - how many years have I been flying? :ugh:) Climbed out to Staplehurst which we attained at 1800 feet - my planned cruising height - but I elected to do a 270 to get myself properly sorted over the town. Good decision, except I started to turn onto course for Lydd before I was over the town. Why'd I do that?

Heading off To Lydd my track-keeping wasn't great. Noticed the track error but Bruce had to work out the correction for me. There was scattered low cloud over Lydd and when we got onto downwind we were quite a long way out and about 700 feet. I defaulted to a long, low flat approach. Wrong! I should have maintained my level until I 'bumped into' the normal approach profile, silly!

Now to deal with the all the R/T for a major international airport :hmm:. Well, it's different to Headcorn, the latter being a radio service only. "Read back anything with numbers in it", insisted Bruce. He was to insist this several times, and with more exasperation, during the next half-hour.

We went to the flying club, I paid the landing fee; I thought, 'Well, there's a chance to redeem myself on the return trip'.

As we taxied out again, I had difficulty hearing Bruce over the R/T chatter. This was getting a major problem. At one point I misheard the controller addressing "Lima Yankee". I had started a response when I got a slap on the wrist - literally - that pushed my finger off the button. I then got a talking-to from Bruce about I can't remember what. I only remember that the controller had in fact been talking to "Mike Yankee".

The journey back - well, because we had left the south coast to fly north to Headcorn, I expected to see the airfield in front with 11-29 orientated across my field of view. Imagine my astonishment when Bruce patiently pointed out the airfield to me, the runway a few miles off our starboard wing tip.

The crosswind approach I could somehow still do but the cocked-up touchdown brought an end to the comedy of errors. A pretty miserable sortie.

I've been getting by on not too much sleep of late. I'm working 6-7 days a week and things are pretty distracting at home. Settled, and basically happy, but busy and distracting. Plus, when my confidence starts to go, it goes. I get a confidence vacuum. When we debriefed in Bruce's office I was aware of an ache in my neck which felt like tension. It took two days (until now) to get rid of it.

Thanks for reading this cathartic account. I've got to keep at it until I crack it but I have to work on keeping my confidence up. I will face an examiner before too long..........

[Cusco]

Kev: are you in a position timewise and financially to book one (or two) week(s) off to fly every single day: Reading your story it seems you suffer from the between flight gaps and end up in a two steps forward, one step back situation.

Do you think an episode of constant immersion for a week or two might help 'burn in' the stuff you forget into your cerebral hard drives.

If the time could be coordinated with a visit by the examiner at the end I'm sure you'd wing it.

Keep at it and good luck

Cusco;)

[kevmusic]

G-EMMA, thank you for that post! There you go, blundering through the blue, making cock-up after cock-up, thinking you're the only guy in this Mile High Duffers Club you've created for yourself; when someone chimes in and says, Hey, I did that, too! And over the same bits of countryside!

Anyway, congrats on your nav skills test. :D It says a lot for you that your nerve held together after all that.

My problem is that I seem to fly so much better on my own. The minute my instructor jumps in with me I go to pieces. :{

Hope your back sorts itself soon. As a fellow sufferer I sympathise.

[PompeyPaul]

My problem is that I seem to fly so much better on my own. The minute my instructor jumps in with me I go to pieces. :{
That never goes away. Even now, a year after getting my license I still feel nervous when I hear my instructor come on frequency!

[kevmusic]

A couple of weeks ago I did the second practice leg, to Goodwood. This went much better - more relaxed, not dwelling on small mistakes, allowing confidence to build etc.. Couldn't write it up straight away 'cos I was off on hols to the Lakes - which was excellent.

Tomorrow it's the QXC. I'm mentally reheharsing the route right now, and hoping for good weather.

[Lister Noble]

Kev
Good luck:ok:
Lister

[vanHorck]

Good luck from all of us!

[kevmusic]

Bruce phoned tonight and said it would almost certainly be too windy for the exercise tomorrow.:{:{

Climbing down now from my psyched-up state and comforting myself by watching 'Zulu' with the family and a few Boers.........er, I mean, beers. Roll on next Thursday!!

[Alogan]

I've really enjoyed reading about your trials and tribulations kev, it's certainly put my mere three and a half years (and 13 instructors) to get the ppl into perspective. i passed my skills test about a month ago at netherthorpe and received my licence two weeks later. I thought that day would never come but in the end it all came together pretty quickly. I found the QXC very nerve-wracking beforehand but once I was underway it was fine, and I flew the last leg from humberside to netherthorpe with a huge grin on my face the whole way. The sun even came out! Keep persevering, as I said, the end sneaks up on you! Good luck!

[kevmusic]

Last Thursday's lesson was a short dual navex to bump up my currency a bit. The weather wasn't suitable for the QXC anyway. The detail was a good one: not because I didn't make mistakes - plenty of those! - but because I didn't let them bug me. Stayed focused and relaxed and felt good after landing. And Bruce said it was, "....quite good", so I must have done well!

So, tomorrow. Looked at Sky weather first thing this morning and if those ditsy girls are to be believed (come back Frances, all is forgiven) it will dawn bright and clear with nil wind. That concentrated the mind somewhat, and all day I have been mulling over all the procedures for Goodwood and Lydd. We'll phone Goodwood before departure and get the runway but will it change en route? Will I be able to pick up which ATIS I'm listening to for Lydd?

I'm already getting butterflies. No question.

[kevmusic]

So off I went; mentally calm and with my mind on one thing only - the forthcoming flight. As I was driving I was aware of a bit of haze around but not so much as when I reached the top of Blue Bell Hill - my usual "what's today really going to be like?" point, and the Weald of Kent before me was like a bowl of dishwater. Oh, crap. But Bruce was fairly upbeat, downloading TAFs and actuals as we briefed and the situation was looking acceptable for my destinations.

Some responsibility was laid on my shoulders. 'Always give yourself the option to turn back' was drummed into me. I did the walkround of 'YL in hazy sunshine and meditative contemplation. Then I was ready.

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p88/kevmusic9/Photo-0063.jpg
'YL before my QXC

The climb-out gave me an idea of what I was going to be up against. I peered up over the nose into murk and looked out over the side at it. Only when I levelled off at 2,300' did I realise I could see further than I initially thought. But not much further. I groped my way to Staplehurst (my departure point), the criterion being that if I could see Bewl Water, 8 n.m. from there I could go.

I was over Staplehurst and I looked hopefully south-west for Bewl. There was a distant gleam, barely separable from the grey, and I took my leap of faith. I turned onto heading, comitted.

I crossed Bewl, a little off track, and adjusted enough to get to my turning point at Uckfield, with any luck. And, of course, as I flew on, so the haze rolled back to reveal more of the countryside and its precious landmarks. I reached some large towns and I couldn't decide if I was over Uckfield with Crowborough on my right or whether I was over Heathfied with Uckfield on my right! Either way, it was time to turn onto my new heading. It should be said that accuracy of navigation on this trip is not essential, thanks to the proximity of the south coast and the Downs, although one obviously does one's humble best. So I ploughed on, keeping the by-now-visible coast a respectable distance to port and thereby avoiding the attendant embarrasment of overflying Shoreham without saying hello to BRL!

I furiously read map-to-ground (and yes, ground-to-map - slap my wrists) without having a great clue of my whereabouts, so it was with a mixture of pride, relief and a little surprise that Goodwood suddenly appeared out of the murk bang on the nose, like a gorgeous lady from a puff of smoke in a magician's trick. Well okay, I had been following the dual carriageway from Arundel and it don't lead nowhere else but still, it was a sight for sore eyes!

We'd got PPR from Goodwood so I knew it was 06 and Bruce had briefed me on the join. The RT, join and circuit went like a dream; the approach was nice, now for a show-off landing: oops, a bit too much hold-off (slight balloon), gently now...there. Trundling down the runway I call for parking instructions. I notice the place seems to be full of tents and marquees. "Yankee Lima, exit right and park in front of the tents next to the second aircraft".

I make my way. As I get closer I notice that there appears to be a fenced compound in front of the marquees and that the aircraft are within it. There's a Luscombe and a T21 Sedbergh in Air Cadet colours. Mmm, happy days. I trundle towards the gap.

"Yankee Lima, stop!!". Chop throttle and brakes on, quick as you like. "Yankee Lima stopped". "Yankee Lima, please taxy to the front of the fence and park beside the other two aircraft".

:O:O. Did you know a 152 could turn in its own length? Neither did I but I find out it could all by myself!

When I was last at Goodwood with Bruce it was straightforward just to walk to the flying club, pay the landing fees, dawdle a bit and go back to the aircraft. Today, the place was a hive of activity with marquees, portacabins and fenced enclosures. It took me ages to find the flying club and then the tower to get my form signed. But what sights on the way! I drooled over the classic racing cars being lovingly worked on, tuned up, revved up & polished up. Classic cars and vans as support vehicles. And, as I made my way back to my humble Cessna, the thundering arrival of the ex-Eagle Airways DC6. As I'd done the walk-round, strapped in and did the start-up checks a Spit and a Fiat arrived and taxyed in. I was just about to call up for departure when a Dakota dropped in! In case you hadn't guessed, I had arrived for the preparations for the 2008 Goodwood Revival (Goodwood - Revival (http://www.goodwood.co.uk/site/content/revival/)) and an excellent event it promises to be!

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p88/kevmusic9/Photo-0064.jpg
The DC6 landing

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p88/kevmusic9/Photo-0065.jpg
Another shot of the DC6

Time to say goodbye to this lovely grass airfield but not without another gentle Kev-type faux-pas for those who might have missed the first one. Control advised me that the runway had been changed to 14 so I looked on my Pooley's plate and it was quite clear - turn left from my parking place and the runway was in front of me. But strange, as I'd just seen the Dakota come in from my right. However, these big aeroplanes seem to land on whichever runway they want. Probably make it up as they go along.

So I turned left down beside the long runway and arrived at the end....to be met by the holding sign which said 32. More :O:O. More u-turn. I taxyed slowly back up to the other end and the welcome holding sign for 14. Funnily enough, the R/T had remained strangely silent during my lonely perambulation; though it wasn't what the tower might have said to me that made me squirm: it was was what the controllers probably said to each other! Fill that in for yourselves!

Anyway, I got away but the Revival had one last thrill to impart to me. As I settled on course for the long (64 n.m.) leg to Lydd I was looking around and just happened to glance down just in time to see the Vickers Vimy replica floating serenely by 1,000' below me! What a privelege.

Bruce had said that if I wanted I could just dispense with all the calculations and dead reckoning and drop down to the coast and find my way to Lydd from there. But the vis. had cleared up by magic so I decided not to do that and to try to follow the line as best I could. I found I kept going to the right of track however and having to adjust things accordingly. Therefore, whilst I kept tabs on the major coastal towns I found villages, roads and rivers passing beneath me in a rather helpless blur, though I did get occasional fixes. enough to avoid South Downs GC, at any rate. And by this time and remembered how to use the VOR and picked up Lydd. Momentary panic as I tried to tune in the Lydd ATIS and got nothing. Then I remembered I was probably out of range and left the radio on frequency, to be rewarded by a gratifying burst of automated information a few minutes later.

I had another moment of concern as I was passing hastings. Rye should have been visible and it was there that I had to call Lydd inbound, but I couldn't see it. Frantic searching now....ah, that kinky railway line on the chart....there it is! - right in front. Happy again. Call Lydd again when four miles to run. That was by the lakes. Up came the lakes but no sign of the airfield. Hmm. If the lakes are only 4 miles from the airfield I should be able to see it! I really had a problem now! Boring on like this getting nearer and nearer; I should be on top of the bloody thing!

There it was, a couple of miles off the starboard wing. Lovely! The landing, despite the crosswind, was really nice and I read back all the controllers instructions with measured aplomb. Mr. Confidence.

As it was, the rest of the trip with the short hop back to Headcorn took on something like the measure of routine and it was a much more relaxed and slightly more experienced KM who arrived back.

I did feel that I've never been in a such a situation where I had to survive on my training and wits for so long. But I feel really proud and pleased.......even if I did somehow seem to 'blag' my way across half my route!

[christimson]

Congrats and a great read. Really looking forward to my QXC which is coming soon.

Thanks for the write up.

[kevmusic]

Well, it's been a while since I've written anything but there have been things going on; so here's a brief resume.

Had to madly catch up on ground exams so I did Nav and Flight P & P in short order. A couple of ground school sessions with Bruce got those in the bag; only R/T written left to do. However, thanks to weather and other availability issues there have been large gaps in my flying, and I've been averaging about one session a month lately. It's now down to a lot or revision for the skills test: and it's amazing how much I've forgotten! Steep turns, the three stalls, PFLs and glide approaches....I thought I could fly!

So, several sessions of revision are in train, continuing tomorrow. That's if my current sore throat and runny nose don't turn into a full-blown cold and cause another cancellation! Ah well, I could always do ground school for R/T......:hmm:

Kev

[kevmusic]

Nope. Full of bloody cold, today. Another week down the tube. :{

[tg835c]

Have you done any flying since last post? I recently passed my PPL and it took me over 2 years to finish. The last 2 summers have been terrible and poor weather really held me up. I had many 3 or 4 week gaps which means you are playing catch up all the time which costs alot of money without progressing (but gaining experience). I waited for ages for good weather to do my Xcountry qualifyer, had each slot week after week cancelled due to poor vis, low cloud base or wind. There were some good days of suitable weather but frustratingly never when i was due to fly, which resulted in more recapping and lessons to keep me up to standard. In the end my club agreed to put me on standby, i took my flight bag to work with me every day and waited for a phone call when a plane was available and weather was good enough.
You will have your licence soon enough as you are nearly there. This is a great thread about your training so far.

Good Luck!

[kevmusic]

Have you done any flying since last post?

I haven't flown since the beginning of December. The reasons are weather, a/c unserviceability, Christmas and a couple I had to cancel. I'm booked in for this Thursday but the forecast looks pants - again!

[nickyjsmith]

Kev,

I can relate to your story, not quite as long as you though. Just had to retake all my exams as they ran out, spent last year trying to get a test in while trying to keep current in the good old British weather ! Now i have my FRTOL and medical so as soon as i can get the weather and a lesson together its back to getting up to speed for a test, had it cancelled atleast 10 times last year, which ment a lot of currency flights and money !
My choice though, i could have done the USA thing in 06 and come back for some UK training but i didn't give the weather enough respect, ahwell, it will probably be a 90hr PPL instead of the 50 hr i was told to get ready for my test at.
All the best and keep your chin up.

Nick.:ok:

[kevmusic]

I must admit, these long delays between lessons - and the attendant degrading of flying finesse and skills - tend to make me look forward to a flight more with trepidation than excitement. I look at the forecast and am almost disappointed that it shows as good for flying, and not so good for a lie-in, a leisurely breakfast and the never-ending list of chores.

Well, there was low cloud and haze but I shot off to Headcorn and spirits definitely lifted as the 45 minute journey drew me closer to the airfield.

"We can go over the salient revision points again", said Bruce. "Slow flight, the three stalls, the PFL, but circuits might be out".

The haze and low cloud remained but we taxied out over the soggy airfield to 11 and clattered off. "We'll climb on top", said Bruce. Well, this was going to be my first experience of that fabled land, VFR On Top, and I was not disappointed. We burst out at 1500 feet into the crystal blue and the brilliant white sea of cotton wool was there - just like in all the books! "See our shadow on the left", said Bruce. I looked round and there indeed was our shadow streaking over the cloud tops a couple of hundred yards away. "Well, watch this". We turned to converge, chased our shadow up to an enormous cloud bank, got the sun behind us and flew right into it! Fun, or what!

Anyway, we then set about the business of brushing up my skills, and I have to say the lesson was the most enormous fun. Yes, the spins I recovered from incipient and fully developed, the PFL was a laugh - my original field disappeared from view (upwind was up-sun, in a wicked haze), I was close and high to the next choice, so there were lots of very tight turns to lose height, and a steep angled climb away to clear the houses, and a descent back to the airfield in IMC.

Bloody brilliant. :D:D:ok:

[kevmusic]

- as I am discovering. Weather and serviceability have all taken their toll of my weekly flying slot but they are nothing to the huge inroads made into my life by my wife's much-increased illness and disability. Precisely what the illness is, no-one seems too sure as yet, though something neurological may be on the cards. She is currently subject to a lot of investigation, with MRIs, biopsies, EMG and what have you; and hopefully, a diagnosis will bring some strategy for treatment. In the meantime, I have one extremely weak (muscularly) and disabled wife who is wheelchair-bound and needs constant round-the-clock care. Six months ago she could still walk with difficulty, now she can't. She's very brave and keeps her spirits up (mostly - she's also a woman of a certain age!! :hmm:) and she still works! She gets wheeled in to her teaching room and teaches the piano! :D

However, sometimes she just feels too ill for me to leave her and I've had to phone up Bruce at the very last minute to cancel, some 3 or 4 times now. But now we've got a carer coming in and I'm hoping to get away this Thursday. I know I won't be taking the Skills Test until I'm ready, but at the moment that readiness feels a long way off.

[stiknruda]

Really dreadful news about Mrs KM - I can not imagine what it must be like for either of you.

Do keep your spirits up, do the skills test when you feel ready and when you have passed, don't forget my promise - contact me for a ride in my Pitts.


Stik:ok:

[kevmusic]

Kind words, Stik, and that Pitts ride is never far from my thoughts! :)

[AreWeNearlyThere]

Nice inspiring story there for anyone who hasn't quite made it to the end yet!

I myself have been on the path for around 9 years. Fortunately, I started when I was 15 so still have time to get my act together!!!! :ok:

I loved flying from a very early age but then college, work, the whole reality of growing up made me loose sight of my ultimate goal. I did manage to start up again when I was 20 but again, got pushed over by parents getting divorced and all the usual hassels which meant I was more or less left by myself.

After experiencing all the joys of grown up life, I am now financialy stable and able to continue training! I have my first/refresher lesson booked for this Saturday and have now got a good plan to be able to finish what I have started and even take it a little further!

I have a question though, I managed to accumulate 21 hours over this period, will these still count for anything or are they "lost" so to speak (apart from the good experience it has gained me)?


regards!
J :E

[kevmusic]

Amenability of weather and all the other culprit circumstances combined to give me a few weeks flying on the trot, all in good old ''YL. General handling has been well and truly revised and now a couple of nav revision flights have gone without too much knuckle-rapping. On the walk back to the clubhouse yesterday, Bruce said, "Well, where do we go from here? How do you fancy doing your next trip with an examiner?" :eek::eek::eek:

Then we had a little talk, and we discussed that my R/T is still somewhat under-confident so we're doing another trip - Southend, Biggin & back; and then...........

While we were doing the paperwork I told Bruce that I was getting nervous about the Skills Test. "Don't be". he said. "It's just another flight, with just another guy. Nerves can kill it. What's the worst that can go wrong? I'll tell you what the worst thing is - that it becomes just another flying lesson."

Bruce is so experienced - he's been in the game as a dedicated instructor so long - that his confidence in me to pass is actually giving me confidence. I feel a bit better after that.

Could it be coming to an end now? - this twenty eight years of learning?

[Cusco]

Could it be coming to an end now? - this twenty eight years of learning?

I really hope so...........

Cusco

[kevmusic]

Well, I deleted yesterday's indulgent, self-pitying post :O, which didn't stand up to the cold light of day. The fact remains that I do have an RT problem, wherein I simply can't understand what other parties are saying. A spin-off of this is that while I'm using all my concentration with ATC, aviating and navigating go out of the window. I know most studes suffer from this but in my case it's so bad Bruce is out of ideas for me. My hearing accuity is pretty good, so it's not that. I think it's a phone thing. I can't understand foreign callers or people who speak quickly. Among the worst offenders in that respect are my own kids, bless 'em. If they call I always hand them over to their Mother. When I see them face-to-face there's obviously no problem but over the phone their rapid delivery has me catching about one word in ten. Mrs. Km deals with them - it works to their advantage anyway. They only call when they're short of money and the missus is a soft touch. :rolleyes:

I'm going to buy an airband receiver and start listening in. Meanwhile the saga continues. I just have to tweak all this up and then go for the Skills Test. Oh yes, and pass the RT written exam............

[Gargleblaster]

Cusco why do you really hope that kevmusic stops trying to learn to fly ?

If kevmusic wants to learn to fly, even despite his wife's illness, I wish him the best !

[kevmusic]

Thank you, GB :), but I think Cusco was referring to the almighty length of my training....:hmm:

[Bigglesthefrog]

Kev
My job for nearly 40 years has been communications including ground to air comms as well as many years with the old morse code and as a pilot like many of the others on this forum. I have instructed people in various aspects of communications and I have witnessed over and over again the difficulty people have talking over the radio. The reason is that people seem to want to put more emphasis on the rule book that actually the clear and concise exchange of information.

The very first, and most important thing that you must do is make sure that you have a good headset that keeps as much background noise away from your ears as possible. See if someone can lend you a good ANR headset and see how you get one with that.

Then, and I'm sure someone will try to shoot me down on what I'm going to say is, don't worry about rigid procedure but consentrate on speaking clear and sensible English, even conversationally if necessary. Make a note on your pad of the basic content of radio calls at important parts of a sortie before you take off and refer to these when the time comes.
Never try to rush a radio call and never be afraid of using "SAY AGAIN" or "SAY AGAIN SLOWER"

Some people think that they make themselves look really cool and proffessional when they speak quickly on the radio with lots of abreviations and this is total nonsense if no one can understand them!
Airline radio banter is short and sharp because they are used to saying the same things over and over again and they are half expecting what they are going to receive.

Don't get tangled up with radio, simply pass your message slowly and clearly and when you receive information simply read back important stuff like runways, pressure settings and anything else that you feel may be important.

Remember, you are simply exchanging information and it is far better to spend a bit more time over the airwaves saying a little bit more in order to get it accurate and correct than it is to be a prisoner to the rule book and get it wrong, miss out important information or even distract your attention from flying the aeroplane!

Like everyone else on this forum, I am really enjoying your story and I have even bookmarked this part of the forum so I can go strait there to get an update. I am very pleased that you decided to go for the PPL instead of the NPPL and I can't wait for the day that I read you have succeeded, because you most certainly will. Twentysix years Kev, don't accept anything less than you wanted when you started and don't look back with any regrets:ok:

[First_Principal]

Kev, good idea to get that radio, it will help - although I'd not expect an immediate improvement, it will take a few weeks. I assume you'll get a hand-held, that way you can use it in the car etc as well & become a little more used to doing other things at the same time.

My suggestion would be that you also interact with the [radio] traffic at the same time - there's not a lot of point just listening, try to envisage your response to a query you hear or how you'd make a call etc. This will greatly accelerate your learning & assist you in being more comfortable next time you're in the 'plane :).

Finally there's nothing like practice. In this situation you're flying a 'plane which in the early stages of learning (ie. up to PPL and a good few hours beyond) is not an autonomous motor-skill. In other words you really have to think what you're doing and your actions are deliberate rather than automatic. This will tend to mean that your radio work shares that thinking time with your flying work - when you become more used to one and/or the other there's less thinking to do & so the other task(s) will also become easier because they have more brain-time available. Everthing improves markedly from there & you'll wonder what all the fuss was about - but it will take time & practice, just as it does for everyone and particularly for you where you're spacing out the flying side of things, this means of course than it'll just take longer for some things to become automatic. If you get the radio - and _learn_ from it rather than merely listening - then that'll also help the flying itself because you'll spend less time thinking about the calls & how you're going to respond.

Incidentaly I agree with Bigglesthefrog, be conversational insofar as it's easier and more relaxing to simply communicate your intentions rather than getting all stressed about procedure but at the same time be concise/short if you can. The procedure will come in time and slight informality is no real issue as long as it's clear what you're doing or responding to but no-one appreciates it when someone reads an essay over the air :oh:

FP.

[Cusco]

Gargleblaster wrote

Cusco why do you really hope that kevmusic stops trying to learn to fly ?

If kevmusic wants to learn to fly, even despite his wife's illness, I wish him the best !

Au contraire gargleblaster, as a PPL who is stuck in an unexpectedly prolonged learning time warp myself, I can fully sympathise with kev.

I can sympathise with his bad days and his apparent backwards steps just as I rejoice with his upbeat postings when he has had a brill day.........

I am certain that he, like me will reach that goal and that, like he hopes, that day will be sooner rather than later.

Not everyone who posts on PPRuNe is a dyed-in-the-wool cynic.

Cusco

[kevmusic]

I'll describe this one, just so you get the feel of the rough edges that Bruce wants me to iron out before the Skills Test.

As I drove to the airfield the glider pilot in me rejoiced at the cumulus bubbling up all over Kent this morning; the stude PPL glowered at it, all too aware of the bumpy ride to come. Bruce had asked me to select my own route so I planned for Headcorn-Swanley-Heathfield-Headcorn; a nice triangular route mostly under the 2'500 base of the London CTZ and edging the east side of the Gatwick zone. I was to sample the excitement of communicating with a radar service by talking to Farnborough Radar en route.

We can't join or depart from the overhead at Headcorn so I climbed out on 29 for Staplehurst, to gain height for my first leg. Visibilty was great so I selected a feature in the distance after allowing for drift. Almost immediately I became aware of a tendency to turn slowly right. I corrected straight away but annoyingly I had to keep doing this all the way to Swanley, and I wondered if I was getting the leans at this point.

I transferred to Farnborough Radar, and by and large, dealt with it. I wasn't as nervous as I have been and kept on top of most of the calls. There was an important one I missed, though. A problem with flight in this area is that you are 'squeezed' between the safety height for the 900' Wrotham mast and the London CTZ at 2,500'. The thermic weather meant that I spent a lot of effort avoiding level busts from my cruising height of 2,300'. It was during one such episode of trying to stuff the aircraft down in an area of stonking lift that Bruce gently call my attention the fact that ATC had been calling me - to point out that I was approaching controlled airspace from below! (I mean, I knew, already!) - and that was their third attempt. Oh well.

Turned at Swanley, settled on new heading, did FREDA. Check big picture, enjoy view. Oops! note time & set stopwatch - some minutes late! (I guessed four.) Heading was generally better maintained by now but I was still fighting the thermals and sink. One moment of excitement came as Bruce took control and made a firm turn to the right and a PA28 drifted across our nose from right to left, about a quarter of a mile away. Note to self - until this point I had been unaware that I didn't properly include the quarter from 3 to 6 o'clock in my scan, and that now was the time to change that!

Bruce kept looking at my plog and chart to satisfy himself that our TMG was going to keep us clear of Gatwick, which it did. He pointed out the view of the airfield, straight up the runway, about 15 miles distant.

Heathfield appeared, more or less as advertised, nestled in the woodland and I turned over the town for home; remembering everything this time. I transferred from Farnborough back to Lashenden Radio. Bang on track, passing the eastern tip of Bewl Water, I called them up and got a QFE. Where's the field? Ah, that must be it- set the QFE on the altimeter. "Can you see the field"? said Bruce.
"Yep, about 5 degrees port, say 10 miles ahead".
"No, according to your drift it should be 5 degrees to starboard and that's exactly where it is".
Damn! Focus moves 10 degrees right. After a couple of minutes I started sweating.....the blasted field just wasn't coming into view. I could see Staplehurst and Headcorn village itself, but not the field! This was getting serious. I owned up to Bruce because there was no point in blasting up to the overhead feigning mastery of my position. He pointed out the field to me which lay innocently in shadow about three miles in front with the usual mass of white aircraft un-highlighted. This was really embarrassing. It was the first time I'd failed to spot the airfield in over a year or so. It was due to an unfamiliar aspect of it but that was no excuse. I'd failed to add up the sorrounding features to project the airfield's position.

As a sop 'YL allowed me a lovely landing: fully held back, right on the stall, bang in the middle of the runway.

Bruce's verdict was that "it isn't quite there, yet". Trying to accomodate all the tasks involved seemed to induce an occasional lapse of concentration. If I wanted he could put me up for the Test but I would need to be on a good day. As these seem to be in short supply at the moment, I declined. So another nav is planned for next week, to another route of my choice. More of the same! :}

[kevmusic]

Finally - another step up the ladder. Finally, a bit of a glow to come home with. The lesson was good - some minor hitches, but a big leap in confidence and application.

After last week's lesson I decided that the "lapses of concentration" were due in part to inadequate sleep (about 6 hours) and a minimalist breakfast (cereal and a cuppa) and so decided that I must do with 7 hours and a cooked breakfast. In the event I got about 6 and 3/4 hours but I did manage to do the bacon, egg, tomato, beans and toast. Any lapses of concentration from now on would be down to old-fashioned fluster!

It was sometime during the flurry of activity to get Mrs. Km set up with all she needed for my absence that my mood began to change and I began to look realistically -as I thought - at the forthcoming flight. My mood got darker and I began to feel that, as close to finishing as I am, this was a make or break point. If I ended up with another, "Well that wasn't too good", or, "You really have to do something about your R/T/heading keeping/level keeping/whatever", then I would throw in the towel. When I instructed with the ATC if a cadet was deeply unimpressive enough he or she would be sent up with the Boss for 'scrub' checks, and their future decided thereby. I felt this was to be my own self-imposed scrub check.

I was feeling this as I left the house and got on with the 50-minute drive. It's good, that drive. With a busy, hectic backdrop of work, caring and general household stuff at home it can act as a shower: washing away the things that crowd in on my mind as I go to fly. Only today it wasn't working. Black thoughts followed me down Blue Bell Hill and along the M20. I turned onto the country roads that take me the fnal ten miles or so to the airfield. The conditions were good, the traffic light and..........well, let's say I enjoyed those final few miles. And those miles worked the magic. I arrived at the airfield in a good frame of mind for the lesson, although still unsure whether it was 'scrub checks', or not.

In the event, I felt positively in control, the whole time. the R/T dialogue with Biggin and Lydd was confident in both giving and receiving, level keeping was more exact and track keeping better. In fact, the whole thing was "100% better" according to Bruce.

Another step nearer sending off those forms!

[kevmusic]

Not quite there, yet! :) I've had some ups and downs, even at this late stage (3 or 4 flights since last post) but after last week, which was a simulated skills test, I feel much more ready. I just want to get the skills test behind me now, and tommorow's lesson could be my last! I still have to get the comms written and ppl medical sorted, so it's finger-out time - I've only a week-and-a-half left of the summer holidays!

[BRL]

Good luck mate, I was just wondering the other day how you were getting on. :)

[The Ginger Prince]

The best of luck for the test mate.

1. Keep ahead of the a/c and all will be good.
2. If anything goes amiss - don't mention it! The examiner might have missed it.
3. If you start getting frustrated or gloomy - try and put it to the back of your mind and think about what a giggle flying can actually be.
4. Enjoy it.

Now if only I can put my own personal demons to bed I'd get back on the CPL course.........:ugh:

[kevmusic]

I was so well aware that today's lesson was, if well-flown, to be the last before the Test, that it almost felt like the Test itself. I badly want to go for the Test now and I felt that if I flunked this flight it would be a step back and a real heart-breaker. So I was pretty keyed-up this morning.

I checked out the aircraft, but before take off, two relatively minor but important things happened. The first was a gathering of (what seemed like) Dutch, German and French microlights. They were all shapes and sizes, and the little bit of international peer-bonding and banter which took place gave me a nice little glow. The second was the arrival of a Tiger Moth at about 1,000' overhead. 'Hmm. Overhead joins aren't permitted here', I thought. He then turned deadside and dived. Up she went into a loop, up again into a chandelle which reversed the direction. A climb to the other end of the field and another loop and chandelle. Keeping up the speed upwind deadside at about 100' he turned in downwind and beat up the runway. (By this stage I recognised the Tiger as one of the Tiger Club's own.) Keeping down to between 50'-100' he turned about 300 yds beyond the threshold, sideslipped and brought her in for a perfect three-pointer.

Headcorn had put on one of her shows for me and helped me realise that all this hard work and angst was going to result in a whole lot of fun. I have realised that all along of course but it's nice to get a tangible reminder once in a while!

Onto the flight itself. Bruce is an examiner, so I get his instruction based on what the examiner is going to be looking for, right from the horse's mouth. This sometimes adds to the frisson of the moment. I felt as if I were under examination fromthe start of this flight.

Suffice it to say, everything went so smoothly, I couldn't believe it. Conditions were good - not enough cloudbase height but amazing vis. In fact, the vis was so good you could see the next turning point from the one previous! I planned Headcorn - Leysdown - Deal Pier - Headcorn. The wind I used worked beautifully and everything turned up right on the nose. We had a PFL: flown like a dream with all the checks recited en route. Flapless circuit - kissed the runway on the numbers.

I feel almost as ecstatic as if I'd performed like that on the test itself, but I've got to come down. We have a saying in the entertainments world, that if the dress rehearsal is terrible, the first night will go down a storm. Whether the corollary is true, I don't know, but I hope not!

Now to get comms written and the medical; then I phone Bruce who fixes up the Skills Test. I just can't believe I had such sturm und drang over all this in the last couple of years.............

Roll on the next couple of weeks! :ok:

[Rodent1982]

:D nice one Kev

[kevmusic]

Roll on the next couple of weeks! http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/thumbs.gif......and the next, and the next.......

Real life just has a habit of doing that. The new teaching term started in September and with it, a whole plethora of issues - mainly concerned with there not being enough business! :eek: Additionally, the gig work, which finances ny flying, has also dropped off in a big way. As yet the flying is unaffected because I have some cash put aside, and plans are afoot to bring in more business for both teaching and gigging.

On with the story. A nice trip to Hawkhurst a couple of weeks ago secured the class two medical, leaving the comms written exam as my final hurdle before the Skills Test. What a lovely read CAP 413 is! Curled up in front of the fire with the dog snoozing on the rug and a steaming mug of Horlicks by your side - such bliss. NOT!!! :ugh: I've never found anything so boring in my life. Well, okay, I can see how necessary it is and I could enjoy taking a pride in getting it right, but it's like Air Law in that it's bl**dy hard to get it to stick. Then I do the Airquiz tests and come away with 60% or something and I realise it's time to do something positive. So I rang Bruce and fixed up a ground school session with the exam at the end of it.

This morning I rolled in, got a cup of coffee and sat down to one of Bruce's brilliant Power-Point presentations. Then I went for it. By the time I emerged Bruce had gone flying so I went home. By the middle of the afternoon Bruce had left a message on my answer machine with the good news that I'd got 90%. Huge relief about that, and the fact that all the written exams are now done.

But it's been so long since I've flown that I've now got to do a top-up before the Test, and that's scheduled for next Wednesday. Talk about two steps forward........:hmm:

[kevmusic]

So I planned for a trip to Biggin, to deal with the Wrotham Mast/London TMA "squeeze" and the busy R/T, thence to Sheerness, to get a view of the coast, then back. Frances's forecast looked good - "early cloud but the sun will come powering through", and I went to bed confident of a good flying day.

Bright and early this morning I got the Spitfire out and set out to get to Headcorn for 9. It certainly was cloudy but I had faith. Did the checks, and Bruce asked me to "fire her up" while he worked in the clubhouse, and take her over to the pumps. Responsibility! It's only a tiny thing and all you grown-up PPLs will think nothing of it but I got a little glow from that! :8

Anyway, we clattered off, and although I have the greatest respect for the doyen of Sky TV forecasters, on this occasion his guess was pants. Wall-to-wall clag sorrounded us by about 1'000 ft. I did a double take at the murk and Bruce said, 'Did you get forecast from Biggin?' Hmmm. Well, no. 'Never mind. You can do some instrument flying.' And off we went through the cloud with me struggling to keep my eyes inside the cockpit, the instruments now being my sole point of reference for stable flight in the climb. Well, we emerged into brilliant 'VFR on top' and did some slow flight and other upper air revision.

There was very little wind and that caught me out later when (south-east, in VFR) we did a PFL: I was hugging the field and came in too high. Frantic sideslipping would have been necessary in a real-life situation. It also caught me out in the flapless landing back at Headcorn. That started out too high and I let down on the runway while still too fast. Sorted it, though - more to chalk up to experience.

Now there was nothing for it but to book the Skills Test. So I did. And it will be on the 19th of November, the great British weather permitting.

I'm now in a bit of a daze. I'm finding my mind echoing back over the last 28 years. God, how I've waited for this moment! (Whoops! - a bit of real emotion there! Not cool. But let it stay.) And now it's almost upon me. Of course, there is the little matter of passing the damned thing.............

[nickyjsmith]

Good luck, just remember if you weren,t up to passing the test then your instructor wouldn't put you in for it. So do what you know how to do, if you make a mistake (and you probably will, i did!) when you recognise it tell the exminer and tell him how your going to correct it.

All ther best.

Nick.

[kevmusic]

I've made myself some general handling revision notes to help me visualise this aspect of the test. They are particular to me and particular to the C152 but I append them here for interest. (And I'd be interested in any comments! :ok:)

SKILLS TEST REVISION POINTS
·Slow flight
·Steep turns & recovery from steep spiral descent
·The 3 stalls
·PFL
·EFATO
·The 3 circuits
****************____________________________________________ _____________________________________

Revision sortie
Climb-out to c. 3,000’. Lookout during climb (’S’ turns) Level off – FREDA check.
Slow flight – at 50. From s&l: At cruising speed, reduce power (to, say,17-1800 rpm) and maintain height by gently raising nose to approximate attitude for 50 kts. As nose rises, asymetric thrust will cause right yaw – use left rudder to correct. Maintain height & heading. Trim for 50. From the climb: Maintain climb revs and raise the nose further to achieve approximate attitude for 50 knots. As nose rises, asymetric thrust will cause left yaw – use right rudder to correct. Maintain heading. Trim for 50. At 45 with flap. Add a little power & select 20° flap. Raise nose slightly to approximate attitude for 45kts. As before, left yaw will need to be prevented. To restore clean straight & level cruise apply a little more power, lower nose slightly and let speed increase to 60, still maintaining height & heading. Raise flap to 10°. Let speed increase to 65 then take away all flap. Set 2100 rpm, let speed settle and re-trim. FREDA.
Steep turns. 360 one way, level wings, settle down, 360 opposite direction. Examiner sets up spiral descent from steep turn – “Recover!” 1. Close throttle. 2. Level wings. 3. Raise nose & wait for speed to reduce to 70 and apply climb power.
The 3 stalls. HASELL check – Height, Airframe (flaps, loose articles), Security, Engine (carb. heat, ammeter, mixture rich, throttle friction, t.s & p.s, fuel on & sufficient, mags both, master on, primer closed & locked), Location (clear of: Active aerodromes, Built-up areas, Cloud & Controlled airspace, Danger areas) and lookout (clearing turns).
Clean stall. Reduce power to idle, slowly raise nose and keep pulling back until full stall occurs. At the full stall apply full power then lower nose slightly. Let speed increase to 70 then climb to recover lost height.
HELL check.
Stall in approach configuration. Apply carb heat and descent power, maintaining height. When in flap limiting speed set 20° flap. Apply forward pressure on control column to prevent over-rapid speed loss and allow speed to reduce to 65 kts. Trim. Gently raise the nose to allow speed to reduce. At the first sign of the stall (stall warner) apply full power, lower nose slightly and, as speed increases to 65 kts, put flap away in stages and resume climb at 70.
HELL check.
Stall in turn in approach configuration. All as above, except when the speed increases to 65 kts the wings can be levelled, then the flaps put away before resuming climb.
PFL. Trim for best speed, assess wind, find suitable field, plan descent. (Suitable: size, shape, surface, slope, sorround.) Fly the aircraft. Restart checks: fuel on, guages showing, carb heat off, mixture rich, throttle set, mags both, master on, try re-start. Fly the aircraft. Radio call: ‘Mayday, mayday, mayday; Lashenden Radio (or wherever), G-BNYL, engine failure, making a forced landing, X miles south of X, X’000 ft, heading X’. Fly the aircraft. Crash checks: fuel off, mixture LCO, mags off, hatches open, harnesses tight, passengers crash positions. Land the aircraft.
EFATO Nose down – gliding speed – trim. Pick field within 30 deg either side & commit to land.
Circiuts. Normal, glide, flapless. Flapless: extend downwind leg.

[kevmusic]

Storms have lashed the country the last few days and today (Sunday) is glorious. More systems are expected next week. My Skills Test is at 10 o' clock on Thursday - I just hope it coincides with one of these lovely VFR windows; but it's Britain and it's November so I know I'll have to be philosophical if the weather forces me to cancel.

On the other hand I've got a few advantages. I've met my examiner, and he's given me the route. It'll be Headcorn - Ford - Farnborough - which we won't get to because we'll divert to somewhere in south Kent for the general handling section. And we will route to Ford via Uckfield to get round the corner of the Gatwick CTR.

My feelings? Well, I'm going over and over checks and procedures, reading the POH, fretting about using the VOR because I don't feel very practised with it, wondering will he give me his weight in imperial or metric for the W&B calcs and have I got all the elements for the passenger briefing? They're Fowler flaps and differential ailerons, and I know how they work. The engine needs four quarts of oil, minimum.

Yes, those are my feelings! Nervous isn't the right word - the adrenaline is already beginning to kick in, though I'm still quite relaxed. I'm trying not to let the weight of the past 28 years bear down on me too much. It's amazing to think that I've spent exactly half of my life gunning for the PPL! All that time, all those thoughts and dreams (literally - have you ever had flying dreams, especially when deprived?) since before my now-grown-up kids were born. Since before I met my wife. It's an enormous period of time and so much has happened. Also, those delicious thoughts of the exciting world that lies beyond the Skills Test - I musn't think of that too much in case I fail and I feel the disappointment too keenly.

I'm popping down to the airfield today to get a snap of 'YL's panel to put on my computer desktop (apart from anything, it will help me with that blasted VOR) and to soak up some atmosphere. Mrs. KM will come too, on her mobility scooter, and I will introduce her to 'YL, the other lady in my life.

And then it will be back to a last few days of more revising and armchair-flying, healthy eating, early nights and no booze 'til next Thursday night.

[Lister Noble]

Good luck and I hope for fine weather.
I've just been up in the Cub ,lovely day with just little wisps of cloud at 1000 feet .
You'll be doing the same soon:ok:
Lister:)

[Cusco]

Best of luck Kev.

There will be many on here rooting for you......

Cusco.;)

[joelgarabedian]

Hi Kev,

After a no go because of the weather last Saturday, my test is also booked for this Thursday, so I'm keeping everything crossed for both of us!

Very best of luck! We might even hear each other on Farnborough East :)

Joel.

[kevmusic]

Hi Joel - welcome aboard! The weather looks really windy for Thursday - something like 20+ knots straight across the runway! :suspect: Still, things could change........:hmm:

[joelgarabedian]

Thanks Kev,

It's no good - I can't think about anything else except the test! It does look like it'll be too windy tomorrow, but I'll keep wishing all the same :)

Joel.

[kevmusic]

Just had a quick chat with my examiner, who reckons I should remain the optimist. Could be 20 knots straight down the runway. Yeehah!! :E

[kevmusic]

Joel - if the wind plays ball and we get up, I'm in a C152, G-BNYL, and I'll be routing past Shoreham on my way to Ford, at about 1230Z. I already have your a/c details from your pm.

Fingers crossed and good luck! :ok:

[smnasn]

Best of luck to you both and fingers crossed for the weather :)

[joelgarabedian]

Thanks :)

Unfortunately it's a definite no-go for me - the wind's already gusting to 36kt at Shoreham, and although it's not perpendicular to the runway, it's easily far enough off parallel to put me outside crosswind limits. Hope you have more luck at you end Kev :)

Joel.

[kevmusic]

No go here either. Just looked at the Headcorn webcam this a.m. and the windsock was straight across the runway. I have re-booked for Thurs. December 6th. (It's a pain being free only on Thursdays.)

Mrs. Km was pleased as we got to walk the dogs!

[Ryan5252]

Quote:
"I have re-booked for Thurs. December 6th"

em.. I'd check your booking again Dec 6th is a Sunday (In Ireland anyway)

Best of Luck Kev!!

[star57]

I grew up in Portugal, at 16 came to Canada, between learning how to speak English and raising a family at an early age, all I could do was take the odd intro. flight and dream on...
In 79 I would drive by my local GA airport CYBW and look at the 172N's and see the price tag of 37K CAD and dream on...
I decided that I should feed the Kid instead of flying lessons...it was aparently illegal not to do so! Lucky him ...LOL he is 32 now.

Couple years ago I woke up after a night of drinking some Scotch and looked back at the last 30 years and realized that there were two dreams that I had not realised...learn how to fly a plane and make love to a woman that has since passed away (FFM).
That wont happen or would never happen...God have her soul!

That day, I decided that one was going to happen, after a lot of hard work for a ladd from Fatima, I got my PPL, have a beautiful 172SP (C-FARC):O in my own Hangar, and rent sapce to two others, (not bragging).

The message that I have for all that want a PPL, either on the way to a career or to have some fun, is never give up, work hard and remember that if you stop dreaming:= you stop living!!!.
Sucess is the realization of a worthy goal.
Enjoy

[kevmusic]

The fact that it has taken me so long to get to this point of being about-to-take-the-Skills-Test makes it quite within the spirit of this thread that it's taking me so long to get past the damn' thing! I have to wait until the 3rd (you were, of course, quite right, Ryan) before another attempt. And will the weather be glorious? 'Course it will..........:hmm:

How about you, Joel? Any luck?

[DeeCee]

Kev,

The skills test will be more fun than you imagine. YL is fine and you'll be ok. Let us know how you get on. Check your PMs. DeeCee

[joelgarabedian]

Hi Kev,

My next test was booked for yesterday... and guess what? Yep. Cancelled due to the weather! Attempt four is scheduled for Tuesday the 1st... the winds seem to be dying down only to be replaced with mist and poor visibility... but I've got my fingers tightly crossed! I'm no longer nervous about the test itself, only the weather ;)

I've booked a lesson for Sunday - it's been two weeks since I last flew, and not only do I miss it, I'm worried about getting rusty before the test! But hoping for two VFR days in quick succession for a lesson and a test seems like pretty wishful thinking.

Good luck for next Thursday! I'll report back on Tuesday :)

[kevmusic]

Good luck for tomorrow, Joel! :ok:

[joelgarabedian]

Thanks Kev, I didn't see your post last night, but I think you wishing me good luck did the trick! Awoke this morning to CAVOK and very light winds!

I felt pretty nervous as we taxied out - I hadn't flown for almost three weeks because of the weather, and the aircraft I normally fly is away for its annual, so I was flying a different Tomahawk than usual.

To cut to the chase, I don't think I flew any part of the test as well as I have in training, but it was enough, and I passed :ok:

I've got my fingers crossed for you for Thursday! Best of luck, and hopefully we'll be hearing each other on Farnborough East very soon! Let me know how it goes :)

Take care,

Joel.

[kevmusic]

Well done, that man!! :D How about a write-up?

[joelgarabedian]

Thanks Kev - I'll try and do a write up tomorrow - I'm absolutely knackered tonight! :)

[BRL]

Well done indeed! It was a nice afternoon for flying today wasn't it! :)

Congratulations. :)

[joelgarabedian]

Thanks BRL :)

Kev - did you get to go yesterday? It was a funny day in Horsham weather-wise.

[Lister Noble]

Kev,where are you?
Anyway wx willing,best wishes on a long awaited pass.
Lister:)

[kevmusic]

As I drove over the North Downs I could see the cloudbase scraping the trees. Driving on it became clear that there were great wadges of low cloud and rain all over the place. No go, once again! :(

Plus, I didn't feel so good about the test, and was kind of glad the weather took the decision for me. After 'hyping down' from the first cancellation I found it really difficult to get my pecker up again. However, on getting to Headcorn I met up with the examiner. We talked about the weather and skills tests in gerneral, and I told him that I was a bit concerned about currency (I've only flown once since the end of August) but that my retention's usually pretty good and that if he was prepared to accept that some of my finesse and flair (:}) may be lacking we'd have another shot at it next Thursday! Otherwise it's the Christmas holidays.

Good old British weather!

[Lister Noble]

Kevmusic,sorry Ihave not been keeping up,do you mean you have not flown at all since August?
If so I would can it until you get some more hours under you next spring,or maybe just forget it and fly with an instructor when you want a bimble?
After all it is meant to be for fun.
Best wishes,and thinking for the best.
Lister:)

[kevmusic]

Hi Lister. I flew at the end of October - http://www.pprune.org/private-flying/216764-most-protracted-ppl-ever-6.html#post5281772 :)

My instructor seems quite happy with me just going straight in for the Test, and I too feel okay about it. (I'll revise everything frantically beforehand!......)

[Lister Noble]

Well,in that case good luck and let's for some suitable weather,it was good here off and on this week,I flew on Monday,and today looks perfect.
Lister:ok:

[joelgarabedian]

Hi Kev - Sorry you didn't get to go on the 3rd. The weather seems to be slowly improving, so let's hope it's third time lucky next Thursday! In case it helps you (or anyone else reading this thread), I've completed a write-up of my Skills test last Tuesday as you suggested. I intended it to be a brief summary, but it's turned into a bit of a monster, so apologies for size of post!

I arrived at Shoreham, already knowing that the grass runways were out of action, hoping that using runway 02/20 wouldn't result in a crosswind of greater than nine knots, the student limit at my club. We're currently at five knots, almost straight down runway 02. I prefer 20, but this is the fourth test I've booked, and the first time the weather might actually permit flying! The aircraft fuselage is covered up, but the wings are distinctly icy. The sun's out though, and despite the cold, the ice is already melting. I've flown Hotel India for most of my training, but unfortunately she's away for her annual now, so I'll be flying Juliet Lima, which I've not flown since right at the beginning of my training. It's almost three weeks since I last flew at all - my genius plan for a lesson on the previous Sunday to both brush up and get used to Juliet Lima fell foul of the weather. Still, I'll get to have a quick taxi to the pumps before the test. I've already worked out that with myself and the examiner, the maximum usable fuel we can take on board is 24USG, or 80% full. I had worried that I'd look in the tanks and find them full, and had wondered if I'd be able to defuel the aircraft, but the tanks are less than half full. Perfect.

I hop in and run through the engine start checks. It's very cold so I prime four times. The engine splutters but doesn't start. I keep trying, priming more each time. Each time the engine almost starts, but then stops with a splutter. After a few minutes I head back inside and explain the problem to the examiner. "I'll go and give it a whirl" he says, followed by "I may as well fuel it too - how much do you want me to put in?". Of course, this means I don't get my cheeky taxi practice in before the test, and the examiner sets me the route to plan before disappearing off outside.

Our route takes us from Shoreham to Borough Green, then down to Lydd. We can't track straight from Shoreham to Borough Green without crossing the Gatwick CTA, so I plan a turning point at Uckfield. Airspace there is uncontrolled below 2500 feet, so I plan to fly at 2300. I've tended to average out the four most South-Easterly spot wind predictions in the past, and this has worked pretty well. There's some quite big differences between each prediction today, but I calculate the average anyway for 2000 and 5000 feet, using an interpolated version for my drift correction. I then mark up the map, complete the PLOG, draw a Wind Star for my planned altitude to assist me with the diversion and prepare a fuel plan. By this time the examiner is back. He tells me that the engine just needed some extra priming because of the cold. He checks and photocopies my paperwork, then we set off for the aircraft.

Once we're in, I give my first ever "Captain's Brief", trying to explain in a friendly way about safety, comfort, and the radio. I'd thought about what I was going to cover beforehand, but I wish I'd planned it better - It all comes out a little bit awkwardly. Never mind. We listen to the ATIS, obtain taxi clearance, and taxi out to B1 to perform our power checks. These all go according to plan - I use the checklist and read everything aloud when I'm on my own anyway, so no change of technique is necessary to show the examiner what I'm doing. I explain the take-off drill to the examiner - "We're taking off from runway 02, rotating at 60 knots. If we have an engine failure or other emergency before rotation, we'll close the throttle and mixture and come to a stop on the runway. If we're already beyond rotation and there is space to land back on the runway, we will do so. If we're unable to land back on the runway, we'll look ahead to land no more than 30 degrees either side".

I taxi to the holding point and tell ATC that we're ready for departure. It's not very busy, and we get immediate take off clearance. We taxi onto the runway, line up, increase power and we're off. Airspeed comes up as expected, and we rotate smoothly at 60 knots. I'm so busy congratulating myself on a pretty good first takeoff after a three-week absence, and checking the Ts and Ps at 1000 feet that I don't turn right early enough to cleanly arrive at the A23 / A27 junction that I've planned the start of the navigation from! I decide that honesty is the best policy, and after climbing to our cruise altitude and doing a FREDA check I explain what I've done. I have a quick look at the map - our first turning point at Uckfield isn't far away, and the 10 degree lines either side I've drawn on the map help me estimate an adjustment to my heading - it's only a couple of degrees. Ok, it's not very professional, but let's move on.

I decide it's time to leave Shoreham Approach, and contact Farnborough East for a Basic Service. It's all going brilliantly until they issue me with a squawk code. I instinctively reach for where the transponder is in Hotel India only to find a blank plate. "Um, negative transponder", I mumble to Farnborough, realising that if I'd remembered to set the transponder to standby before take-off, I'd have realised this sooner. I'm also having trouble getting Juliet Lima to hold altitude. I've never had a problem with heading or altitude before, but I'm glancing at the map, looking around outside, looking back in and discovering we've lost or gained 100 feet. I need to be more careful, especially because there's controlled airspace just above us. Halfway to Uckfield I estimate that we're going to be two minutes late, and inform the examiner. We reach Uckfield at the new planned time and turn for Borough Green. I'm settling in now, my wind estimate is reasonably accurate, and we're tracking along the intended route fairly well. I do another FREDA check. Once we get to the North of Tonbridge, I start looking for the railway just South of the M26 that my map tells me runs straight through Borough Green. Eventually I spot it, but there are a number of small settlements along the line, so I use the distinctively shaped forest (which is marked on the map), to work out exactly which one it is. "At Borough Green, turning for Lydd" I announce. I faff a bit in the turn and manage to lose some height. Instead of trying to sneak back up, I put on full power and perform a proper climb back to our target cruising altitude. It's been half an hour since we took off, so I perform another FREDA check and switch fuel tanks, making a note of the time. This disrupts our track slightly, but I adopt the heading for Lydd. Sometimes when it's very clear you can see Lydd on the coast, but it's too hazy today, so I just have to trust my plan. A few minutes later the examiner says "right, let's divert to Battle". I've been anticipating the diversion, and have tried to maintain an idea of where we are, but my mind suddenly goes blank. We're overhead the amazingly straight railway line that runs into Ashford, but it's complete lack of curves mean I can't use it to get an East-West position fix. I (wrongly!) assume that we're on track to Lydd and plan the diversion. I use the Wind Star to estimate heading, ground speed, and ETA, and inform the examiner. About three minutes later, I realise what I've done when Bewl Water appears on the right way closer than it should. I look at the map again and announce that I'm going to adjust our heading "a few degrees" to the left. The examiner asks what the new heading will be. "Er, fifteen degrees left" I reply nervously. We continue, and suddenly all landmarks seem to disappear. After what seems like ages, a town appears ahead. I check the plan but we're five minutes early. "I don't think this is Battle" I announce "we're too early to be at our destination yet". I look at the examiner, hoping his face will give something away. It doesn't - he'd make a good poker player! I'm starting to feel tired, and I don't feel my flying or navigation is as good as usual. A few minutes later I spot a town ahead. I was hoping to see Battle Abbey for confirmation, but I can see a railway line and main road matching what's on the map. "Battle!" I say with relief.

At this point the examiner advises me that he'll take control of the radio and navigation for the next part of the test. We start with steep turns, then move onto the stalls - first the clean, full stall. When I first started learning, I was scared of stalling in the Tomahawk after seeing it described as the "Traumahawk" or "Terrorhawk", and although I've never dared to practice stalling alone, I've spent quite alot of time stalling with instructors, practicing tiny rudder inputs when at or close to the stall to try and prevent a wing drop. I've never stalled in Juliet Lima before though, so maybe it'll behave differently. I climb to 3000 feet, perform my HASELL checks, turn into wind, reduce the power and move the control wheel back. Juliet Lima approaches the stall brilliantly, buffetting madly but the wings staying level. "Recover" says the examiner. Recovery goes well, then I set up for the next stall. I reduce the power and start turning when the examiner says "return to straight and level please", which I do. I have a think and suddenly realise - the HELL check! We're only half way through and my brain's already packing up! We're at 2800 feet, so I climb back up to 3000 and perform a HELL check. This stall, and the final approach configuration stall go without incident. Next it's a steep gliding turn. Am I supposed to do another HELL check? In the heat of the moment I'm not sure so I do one anyway. Next it's recovery from a spiral dive, which goes well. Finally it's the Instrument Turn. I ensure we're S+L, calculate the bank angle (90 knots / 10) + 7 = 16 degrees, don the foggles, and begin the turn. About halfway through I suddenly feel like we're climbing quickly. I glance at the VSI but we're not. I try to ignore what my body's telling me and rely solely on the instruments. I return us to S+L 180 degrees later, and take off the foggles.

The examiner then instructs me to intercept the Seaford VOR and fly to it on a radial of 230. I like the VOR concept, which I've always found quite intuitive to use, so this doesn't pose any problems, save a little oscillation once we're on the radial. Obtaining a fix with a second VOR also goes well. I select and identify the Mayfield VOR and fix our position, marking it on the map.

We then take up a specific heading, and after a short while the examiner says "Engine Failure. I want you to assume there's no suitable landing areas on your right", turns on the carb heat, and sets the throttle to idle. When I first did PFLs in my training I found the experience a little overwhelming, but I've been practicing the drill everywhere whenever I get a spare moment. Without thinking I say "Trim for 70, select field". Whilst converting our speed to altitide I spot an excellent field below - it's long, flat, smooth and into wind. I pick a high key point, head for it and go through the restart drill - "primer, mixture, switch fuel tanks, fuel pump on, exercise throttle, carb heat, mags, master - no restart". I warm the engine and make a simulated MayDay call, hesitating when I realise that I'm not sure of our position. "Don't worry about our location" says the examiner, sensing the problem. We're now downwind, and I spot a farm strip in the field before the one I've selected! I explain to the examiner that I've already committed to the other field, then explain (badly) whilst doing a touch drill on the door lock in the ceiling that he should tighten his seatbelt, remove his glasses, and wedge his door open. Commital drill - I go through an engine shutdown, finishing with simulating turning the Master off - the flaps are mechanical in the Tomahawk. I do another engine warm, then lose less height in the turn to final than I expect and realise we're still quite high. I deploy flaps and think about an s-turn, but there's a huge unfenced gap in the hedge at the end of the field into the next, which is almost as suitable. "Are we going to make it?" asks the examiner. I reply that we are not, but we will make the next field. We're now below 500ft, so I announce "Going Around". He doesn't ask me to continue, so I climb away. Once we're in the climb, but still low, he sets the throttle to idle and announces "Engine Failure". Again, I trim for 70, and announce "look ahead, 30 degrees either side". There's a field just off the nose which I head for. "Will we make it?" he asks. When I reply that we will, he asks me to climb away.

By now we're back in the vicinity of Shoreham, and the examiner asks me to take over the radio and organise the rejoin. I'm absolutely knackered, I need a wee, and I'm incredibly thirsty! After a quick FREDA check and switching fuel tanks I listen to the ATIS, then tune the radio to Shoreham Approach. "Did you tell Farnborough you were leaving the frequency?" he asks. Bugger. That's never happened before, but I didn't. I quickly tune back to Farnborough and request a change to Shoreham. Already worried I've failed, the ATIS reveals that the active runway is still 02 - I've only ever flown circuits from 02 once before - every other time it's been 20. I organise the rejoin, and join crosswind for a normal approach and landing. I do my BUMFICH checks, then fly base and final pretty well, with a fairly good touchdown considering it's my first for three weeks! As I accelerate down the runway for the next circuit, the plane suddely veers to the left. In my zombiefied state, I feel like it takes me ages to react. But we recover and take off again. Climbing away I let out a huge sigh, which I then remember the examiner can hear! When I turn downwind, ATC tell me that there's a Cessna ahead in the circuit, which I can't yet see. As we approach the end of the downwind leg, I still haven't spotted it, so I ask ATC for confirmation of their position. They're on final by now, and I spot them, but I've forgotten my downwind checks. I remember just as I'm turning base and call them out quickly. When I say "Hatches and Harnesses secure", the examiner suddenly says "Oh, shall I do my seat belt up?". He'd removed his shoulder strap without me seeing - very sneaky indeed! This time it's a flapless approach, which goes well. Finally it's the glide approach. I fly a tight downwind and ask if we can perform a glide to land. ATC informs us that there's already traffic on final, and asks me to perform an orbit for spacing. I comply, then after notifying ATC that I'm commencing the glide, perform a reasonable glide in. I'm so frazzled that ATC have to repeat their "taxi to pumps or parking" request twice before I hear it and respond.

I never thought I'd say this, but I can't wait to get out of the plane! I try not to rush back to parking. I stop and run through the after landing checklist fully, then taxi back. On the way I half want to tell the examiner that I usually fly much better than this. I don't feel that everything was terrible, and definitely not unsafe, I was just hoping to conduct a much slicker flight. I run through the shutdown checks and stop the engine. "Well", says the examiner "I think we can let you out on your own, Well Done". We had a thorough debrief - I made notes of everything we went through. Most of the mistakes I'd made I was already aware of, plus the examiner had a few other tips I'll remember in the future.

So there we go! Probably the most exhausting 2 hours and 10 minutes of my life to date! But overall I had a great day :ok:

[kevmusic]

Joel, that's a great read and thanks for posting it. Reading it made me feel quite nervous! How did you feel during the trip?

[joelgarabedian]

Thanks Kev! I was a bit nervous, but my real problem on the day was thinking about the mistakes I'd made rather than moving on and focusing on the remainder of the test. Looking back, I wish I'd just tried to relax and enjoy it a bit more!

The Weather's looking excellent for next Thursday :)

[stevelup]

Fantastic post. Thanks for taking the time to write that!

Steve

[BRL]

Superb post Joel, thank you for taking the time to post that up. :)

[joelgarabedian]

Steve and BRL - thanks for taking the time to read it! :)

[joelgarabedian]

Kev - The weather's looking excellent for tomorrow - let's hope it's go :) And best of luck! :ok:

[Lister Noble]

Kev,
A final thought,just remember you can elect to do the navigation and flight skill tests seperately.Even in the same day with a coffee/food break in between.
I wish I had because it is knackering,maybe an age thing,but you can ask the instructor tomorrow what he thinks.
Any which way ,best of luck and I think the weather is with you.
Lister:ok:

[kevmusic]

Thanks for your thoughts, chaps. :ok: The aeroplane is booked out later and we have to get it back, so it's going to be quite a rushed job - all in one, I reckon. I have to get up at 5 to get everything sorted before leaving, do the test, walk dogs in the afternoon, teach in the early evening then I've got a gig 8 - 11!! :} I'm exhausted just thinking about it!

Anyway, early night tonight and a good breakfast tomorrow!

[Lister Noble]

Kev,sod the rest concentrate on the flying,just for one day!
Gigs are often there,find a dog walker and do it,good luck.

[Lister Noble]

Kev,go to bed!;)

[kevmusic]

On my way!

[smnasn]

Beautiful day here today so fingers crossed all goes well :)

And many congratulations to you Joel, thoroughly enjoyed your write-up :)

[kevmusic]

I PASSED!!!!!!!!!

Really busy right now, so write-up to follow.

[Lister Noble]

Well done,great news!:ok:

[joelgarabedian]

Congratulations Kev!

I've been checking back all day hoping you'd posted! Enjoy the gig tonight :ok:

Joel.

And smnasn - thanks :)

[Cusco]

Bl**dy fantastic Kev.

Take three days out from PPRuNe and go and celebrate.

The write-up can wait.

Cusco:D:D

[smnasn]

Been wondering all day how you got on, fantastic news, many congratulations :)

[IFMU]

Kevmusic,

Your first post back in March of 2006 mentions it all started back in May of 1981. So, being the engineer type I am, I figure that makes the most protracted PPL ever 28 years and 7 months or so. Now you've done it, capped it at a fixed number so somebody can come in at 29 years and steal the title from you. Regardless, I send you my heartfelt congratulations of a job well done, and a good thread besides. I admire your perserverance.

-- IFMU

[Aerials]

Kev, I would like to add my congratulations too - well done! I have also taken the long path towards PPL and know how difficult it can be when there are family commitments and always something else more important that needs any 'surplus' cash. Your story is inspirational and it has come along at just the right time. I'm starting again (again), but this time the constraints are much fewer - I just hope that I'm not too late to enjoy taking family members for a ride! Very best wishes to you and your family, Aerials

[Piper.Classique]

:ok::ok::ok::ok:
Well done! Now use it and enjoy it!
Congratulations!

[BRL]

Great news Kev, well done indeed mate :)

[Bigglesthefrog]

:D Bloody well done Kev :D
Like all the others, I've been reading your posts for months and have flown with you in spirit. Feeling elated when it has gone well for you and commiserated in sympathy when things have not been so good. But I and everyone else who have gone through their own PPL will know the feeling of achievement that you are now experiencing.
I would also like to add here that if you were flying your test between 1230 and 1330hrs then I was also flying my own skills test for a SEP revalidation with a CAA examiner, after going back to flying after a 4 year lay off.
I can tell you that the trepidation I felt against the possibility of failing was every bit as intense as my PPL GFT some 30 odd years ago:eek:
But, like you, I passed too:ok:

[kevmusic]

@ Aerials - thanks for your good wishes. :ok: It's never too late: go for it! Bigglesthefrog, good for you! - well done on your revalidation. :D Though I was back down by the time you were flying.

And thanks to one and all for all your kind thoughts and support. Your encouragement has played a big part in keeping my chin up and in getting me to this point. The power of PPRuNE!! Now I'm working on the Test write-up, but with BRL's assent I should just like to carry on the diary (I hate the word 'blog') for a few flights into my aviating life as I settle in and begin to grow in confidence as a new pilot.

[Lister Noble]

Kev,how about some musical accompaniment?:)

Lister
Your own ,of course:D

[BRL]

Feel free Kev, looking forward to reading about your first couple of flights :)

[ChampChump]

Congratulations Kev, for effort and perseverence amongst all the other attributes. :ok:

I hope I'll bump into you at Headcorn, where I lurk off and on. A pm on its way.

CC

[*Zwitter*]

Congratulations - I'm 6 hours into my PPL - it'll probably take me just as long!

Here's a musical present to celebrate!

YouTube - Pink Floyd - Learning to Fly (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb-Nacm-pKc)

Raising a glass of Old Speckled Hen in your honour!

[kevmusic]

I'm writing up the Test in fits and starts (tch! - I can't keep spoonerisms out of my head. Such a child!) so I think a couple of instalments will be the way to go. The first in an hour or two. :ok:

[kevmusic]

Getting away from the Km household can sometimes be an epic task, and as I had to be at the airfield at 0830 I planned every job for the evening and morning and put it down in a timetable, setting myself to get up .......at 0500. One of my biggest concerns had been whether I would get enough sleep before the test by either failing to get off to sleep, or awaking early and tossing and turning while waiting for the alarm. In fact, I slept soundly, waking and snoozing for about half an hour before the alarm and getting about 6 ½ hours. As I went about the house, getting ready, I felt alert and positive – unusually for me at that time of morning!

I got notams, weather, TAFs and METARs; got the spot wind and factored it in to my plog; did the necessary domestic jobs and was ready to leave, a little later than planned, at 0750.

During the last few weeks I was becoming aware that my currency was beginning to look decidedly thin. I’d been flying pretty regularly upto the end of August, but had only managed one flight since then, and that not even a navex. My initial test appointment was for three weeks after that and Bruce was confident I’d hold it together for then. But the weather had other plans, and that was cancelled. And the next. And so it dragged on. By now, Bruce was beginning to think I’d be better off with a refresher, but I was beginning to feel I’d had enough. Immerse myself in visualisation and revision, run and re-run the route (Staplehurst – Uckfield – Ford – Farnborough) in Google Earth, rehearse the checks to death then go for it.

Later, my impatience was very nearly to be my undoing. But for now I trusted in my immersion habits and skill-retention attributes to get me through. It even came down to affecting my choice of car for the journey. Would it be the Astra, with its modern smoothness, quite and comfort? Definitely better for maintaining immersion and deep thought for the way there – and, perhaps more importantly - the way back! The other option was my pride and joy, my 1967 Spitfire. Despite its initial reputation as a ‘girly’ sports car, the Spit is actually quite a muscly drive. The steering’s heavy, the gearbox is heavy, the cockpit is spartan and it’s noisy and rattly. It’s a great buzz though, and definitely the car of choice with a fun flight in the offing. But this was a Skills Test. And if (dreadful thought) I failed, then the Spit is not a car inwhich to slink away from the airfield with your tail between your legs. In the end I decided that the latter train of thought was pure negative thinking and went for the Spit. At least I’d have a fun ride on the ground.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p88/kevmusic9/Spit3.jpg
Transport of delight - my '67 Spit.


So there we were, at ten to eight, I’d kissed Mrs. Km goodbye and I was getting the car out of the garage. I love open-top motoring but it is December, so I had the top and the windows well and truly up. It felt rather strange making that familiar journey now – so often for just a flying lesson, now for the Test itself. But I found I didn’t want to immerse myself in checks and other flying thoughts this journey. I was happy just to do the drive with the radio on and think about nothing. When I arrived, something made me grab my bag, climb out of the car and stroll into the club just as if it were another ordinary day.

There was a rush on. The aircraft was booked out later that morning and we had to be off the ground by 9.30. So I went straight to the briefing with Max, my examiner, who told me what we would be doing and where, and what he expected of me in terms of safety and lookout, R/T, navigation and all the other good things. Then we agreed that I would check out the aircraft and take it over to the pumps. Max, meanwhile, would go over to the Tiger Club to blag a cup of tea and meet me when ready. At the time of my first appointment ‘YL had been parked nearest the clubhouse in anticipation of my doing the walkround under Max’s gaze. Not so, this time – she was parked several spaces up the line. So I checked her over as normal, started her up and went over to the pumps. I had just finished the port tank and was taking the ladders and hose over to starboard when I saw Max hurrying across, looking grim and shaking his head.

“I just heard”, he called. “Locusts. Millions of ‘em”.

I couldn’t believe my ears. Sounded a bit biblical. Here?

“Zero visibilty. It’s all off”.

Then the penny dropped. My CAA examiner was having a pre-test wind-up. I must have rolled my eyes, or something; anyway, he chuckled. At least I’d pleased him on the ground. A good start.

So here I was – finally ensconced in the cockpit with an examiner. Due to all the recent heavy rain there had been some doubt whether we could use Headcorn for circuits, raising the possibilty of doing the circuit work at Lydd and incurring extra headaches and fees. However, the authorities relented, though the ground remained very heavy, and I needed a lot of power to taxi and turn. Once lined up for departure Max ticked me off for not setting up for a short-field take off due to the conditions. After take off I remembered to retract the flaps at 300’. Settled into the climb it was time to get my kneeboard and chart from behind the seat and start navigating. The climb out on 29 took us to our departure point over Staplehurst a little low so I turned 270° climbing to 2,300’ to orientate myself for the first leg to Uckfield. Time, stopwatch, does it look right? – yep, there’s Bewl Water – FREDA and go.

That’s when I entered faff mode. Big time.

[Cusco]

Ah! I get it:

The write-up's going to take 28 years as well................

Cusco:ugh:

[kevmusic]

Ah! I get it:

The write-up's going to take 28 years as well................

Nah. I really wanna take my time over it. ;)

[joelgarabedian]

Nice work Kev - looking forward to the rest of the write-up!

I think Faff Mode is a critical component of the Skills Test. I'm not normally a faffy person, but I definitely entered said mode a number of times on my test too!

I don't think it's a lasting condition though. I flew last Sunday and the faff was gone :ok:

[Lister Noble]

Not too long I hope Kev;)

[kevmusic]

Earlier, I’d got a wind vector of 325/22 at 2,000’ but had been concerned that there was a big discrepancy with the actual wind at ground level, which was about 5 knots. Max seemed surprised too. Had the Met Office cocked up? Surely not! There was nothing I could do now, but go with it. Now, as I began to leave Staplehurst behind, I started checking map to ground, and it became pretty obvious that my TMG was going to take me closer to Bewl Water than it should. In fact, going by the rate we were heading for Bewl it was going to need a hefty change of course to re-establish track – say, ten degrees to the right. The wind must be stronger/lighter/from a different heading than I’d thought. More dodgy decisions followed. I was beginning to lose grip. and something in my brain was saying, “This is ridiculous! How could you ever have believed etc., etc..?!” I ignored it.

I ploughed on, trying not to panic. Then Max bluntly told me that there was Gatwick in out twelve o’clock and if I even thought about another right turn he would have to re-think the whole thing! I began desparately searching about for help. I turned more southerly because it seemed like a good idea and after a while a town floated into view. I checked the time and – that was right – there was the western by-pass, the southern spur. It couldn’t be. Was it? It looked smaller than I thought it would be. It was Uckfield! Max confirmed it and pointed out how Crowborough defines the western limit of uncontrolled airspace. I calmed down and took stock. I set up for my new course and knuckled down, well aware that I needed to do much better to rescue the situation.

From the start of the second leg I felt much more in command. I changed to Shoreham and listened in for a while before announcing myself. There wasn’t much action but we were going quite close to the airfield. As for the navigation, I knew that the south coast should converge gently with our course until Ford, so all I had to do was make it converge gently. And, I’m pleased and relieved to say, it did. The easy navigation tasks on this leg helped me to relax now, and i was beginning to enjoy myself. Max asked me to identify a number of towns en route and this was no problem. Twenty seven miles later I confidently took us between two dual carriageways which pointed at the airfield, looked expectantly at the far side of a large bight in the River Arun, and there it was, bang on time. Max pointed out the prison buildings and their previous RAF use.

Diversion time. I knew this was going to take us back to the training area for the general handling section, and so it was - Deanland.
Deanland is a single grass strip set half way between Eastbourne and Uckfield. It’s not easy to find, and I’m sure the parked aircraft there are only cardboard cut-outs to make it look as though other people found it. Max obligingly took control while I did the homework, then set us up after I gave him the course. Thus established I called Shoreham again to tell them we’d be flying across their northern boundary, but at 2,300’.

Now it was time for a play with the VOR, and to see whether I’d boned up on it sufficiently. Well, it just turned out to be a piece of cake. I can’t understand why I had all that trouble with it at first! The VOR work turned into a bit of a gratis tutorial, with Max going on to explain features and applications of the instrument. Then, another, “What’s that town?”, and I’m having another look – “Famous brewery there”. Ah, that’ll be Harvey’s and the town is Lewis!
I observed, that during all Max’s chat about the VOR, our TMG was a couple of miles south of where it should be, so I snook up closer to Lewis whose southern boundary was shaved by my course; explaining what I was doing all the while. “I take it there was more to your little treatise on the VOR than the benefit of my education”, I said.

“That’s right – confuse and obfusticate!”

Well, it doesn’t take much, I thought. And there, right ahead, was an airfield. To the south and east was a lake and on checking its bearing and distance I reckoned it was Deanland. Max challenged me pretty strongly on this, pointing out on the chart the gliding site nearby. I checked everything – the lake, the little cut-out aeroplanes and the timing. I thought, ‘what’s needed here is some assertion’, so I said I was positive it was Deanland. Final answer. Max nodded, gave me a smile and a metaphorical thump on the shoulder and I was beginning to think I’d put the nightmare first leg behind me and that I was in with a chance.

“Right, it’s the General Handling section”, he said. Now, I’ve read a lot about how people are pretty knackered at this point, some advocating a landing and a break, others pressing on regardless.........not me. I was just getting into my stride!

Here, I must say I was surprised that the format of the General Handling section differed from the way I’d been taught. I’d been over the tasks to a certain depth over and again; so much so I could almost give a briefing myself. Max did things differently and once I got used to that I could brace myself accordingly.

First up was slow flight. Max asked me to set it up for straight and level at 60 knots. And that was it. Fair enough, but what about at 50, then at 45 with flap? Easy peasy.

Well, no. Not easy peasy. It was just different, and I had to accomodate. Such as the stalls. I’d done the HASELL checks and was doing my clearing turns and Max asked me to carry on and make it a steep turn. Bang went my procedure for steep turns! (Note heading, check ground or sky feature, lookout, etcetera.) so I just went for it and guessed when to stop the turn. He seemed pleased enough with it. Then the clean stall itself. That went fine, then Max asked me to set up for approach configuration at 65 knots, then to have another go. HELL check, then off we go again, with me listening hard for the stall warner. This was the second stall, wherin I’d been taught to recover at the first sign of the stall, so when I recovered as the stall warner chirped Max stopped me and asked me to carry on holding back upto the full stall.

Now Max took control and asked me to shut my eyes to set about showing me the disorientating effects of flying in IMC. He put the aircraft through various manouevres and asked me to state what attitude I thought we were in. I said quite confidently that we were in a descending turn – I opened my eyes and we were flying straight and level! He repeated the exercise with similar results. I had an idea that this was working towards the spriral dive recovery, so it was no surprise that with my eyes still closed I heard the motor beginning to wind up and Max call, “Recover!”. I opened my eyes and there was a full-on spiral dive. Chop throttle, level wings – stick and rudder, pull back and wait for 70 knots to restore power to climb. Once again, different from my practised format, where the spiral dive follows two steep turns in opposite directions.

Next came the PFL. I selected a good looking field, slightly crosswind but not too upsetting and as we got lower, creeping on base, a handy bonfire confirmed the wind. I recited all the checks and Mayday call. I was at about 600’ pointing into the field on base leg which was fine, because I was heading right into wind. I left the final turn nice and late and crabbed towards the field. We were still quite high so I started a couple of steep ‘S’ turns when Max said, “That’s fine, we’ll get in there. Climb away.”

Then he got the map and told me where we were and asked me to set a course to take us back to the field. We were at 900’ and he asked me to imagine we were beneath overcast and had to maintain that height all the way back to Headcorn. On the way back he asked me what that town was. I had about three goes and they were all wrong!

So, finally back at Headcorn and circuit work. First was the flapless landing. I extended the downwind leg a good way and set up a nice, long approach. It was much flatter than normal, of course, but nice and sedate. The soggy state of the field was evident from all the muddy grooves at the threshold, and it was onto this that we gently lowered ourselves. I don’t know if the word ‘greaser’ can be applied to landing on mud but this was certainly one of my better landings. Then the mud bit and I felt the pressure of my straps before I applied power to get us up again. Up into the circuit once more for the glide approach. Max cut the throttle halfway down the downwind leg. I reduced speed to 70 knots and turned in. In fact I hugged the threshold all the way down: all the angles looking good. Onto final now (Max did the call) and time to bung on 20° flap. Lean on the column and check on the speed for 65. We were coming down quite fast now – oh sh*t, I’ve got full flap! Never mind, the speed’s good and the threshold is right under the nose – go with it. Must remember to flare earlier and firmer, but don’t balloon. The flare was bang on – a little bounce – Max was saying, “Mr. Elliott, Mr. Elliott..........that tells me more about your flying.......”

I fairly glowed. The test was over. Max taxied in and parked. We debriefed in the office and Max had a lot to say about that dreadful first leg. So much in fact, that I thought I was going to get a partial. But he dwelt on the fact that I’d pulled myself together and from then on, had actually flown ‘a good test’. I still wondered what I was going to walk away with until he held out his hand and said, “Congratulations. You’re a PPL!”.

As I drove home I could feel the sun on my back – the weather and countryside were at their very best on this December day. Down came that top.

[CPD2]

Hi Kev, Just to join in the congratulations. I have been following your story for the last two years or so, but missed the big moment.

You are going to hate me for trying to top your longest ever, but I had my first non space cadet lesson in 1975, and finally managed to solo in September 2008. Have not flown since for all those reasons :(. So, even if I do get my PPL in the next year, I might just get the wooden spoon for longest, oldest, student:bored:

A quick resume: first lessons on PA28. Marriage. Started business. Child.
Took it up in earnest again in early 90's. Hit by runaway steamroller, lost medical as a result. It did sting a bit. Double vision problem resolved early this century - well, it was a steamroller and it took a while to straighten things out - more lessons. Many years spent learning to land. I had to make it difficult by learning on a Tiger Moth. Reached solo standard at last so went for medical. Sent to heart specialist for more tests. Open heart surgery, no medical. CAA very supportive. Medical reissued on completion of recovery. Many more circuits to get up to standard again. Finally soloed G-AHIZ. Worth every moment.

Your posts have inspired me to keep going. And I will

[kevmusic]

@ CPD2, thanks for your kind comments.
Hit by runaway steamroller, lost medical as a result. That sounds like a story in itself! :eek: I bet you thank your lucky stars that's all you lost!

Well, the news is, I still haven't completed. Somewhere along the way, my R/T practical was overlooked, so I'm booked to do that next Thursday, the 14th, with Max, the same examiner. More burial in CAP413!!

An interesting, slightly spooky twist came up on the leg back to Headcorn. Way, way back, in 1982, when Dad's business had gone bust and I'd had to put away my flying stuff for the infefinite future (for the first time), an event occured that stuck in my memory. One early evening, Dad called me urgently to the back door. I looked up just in time to see a very low Tiger Moth passing right over our house and lurching off to the north-east. The cloudbase was overcast at just a few hundred feet, and the Tiger was clearly in trouble.

Later, the local evening news reported a light aircraft having come down in a field near Sunderland Airport. I drove to the location and and found the Tiger, in the corner of the field, tipped into its nose. That was it, really, but quite a dramatic event to occur when one is so recently smitten with the flying bug.

Fasty forward 27 years later to the last leg of my Skills Test, and, as I 've mentioned, we flew back under an imaginary low cloudbase. the circumstances prompted me to relate the Tiger Moth story to Max as we flew.

"What year did you say that was"?
"1982".
"In Sunderland"?
"Yep".

Brief silence. Then Max said, "I'm a friend of the guy that did that and six weeks ago he was telling me about it".

Talk about flabbergasted! When we got got back he phoned the pilot and confirmed it. I thought that was an incredible way of bringing the story full circle. An event that was there from the beginning of my flying career that popped up again right at the end of my training.

[BRL]

It's a small world in UK GA isn't it!! :D

Nice story Kev, good luck with the RT soon. :)

[kevmusic]

I was not looking forward to the R/T practical. I somehow couldn't focus on it: CAP 413 was just too boring and there was nothing on the net......

The night before the test I dug into my bag and unearthed two CDs that Max had given me a year or so ago. It was a commercial recording of R/T practices made by a professional-sounding guy doing the narrative and all the 'calls'. It was much more immediate and 'real' than CAP 413, albeit rather old-fashioned. I listened to segments of both CDs, fast-forwarding a lot.

I needn't have worried. Max gave a thorough briefing, which was basically a rehearsal of the route, interspersed with some of his many 'war stories'. Then we were off and it all went really smoothly - I could almost say I enjoyed it! :} Anyway, I passed.

So that was it! All hoops duly jumped. Last week saw yet more delay, this time over certifying copies of my passport - eventually I just decided to send off the original - the hell with it. So off it all went Special Delivery, yesterday; and I hope to get my licence by, say, the end of the week in two weeks - around the 5th of Feb.

Meanwhile, I'm wondering whether to get a bit of dual top-up before I set off in this brave new world. I've still only had three flights since last August............:eek:

[Lister Noble]

Kev,I had a couple of fun bimbles with the CFI while I was waiting for the licence to arrive.
Lister:)

[kevmusic]

Sounds a sensible idea, Lister. :ok:

[kevmusic]

Yesterday, the famous poo-brown wallet arrived. I can't believe that it's finally happened! I'm still walking on air. :ok:

Still can't get into the air, though. I tried to get some dual last Thursday but the weather stopped that, so hopefully, next Thursday?......

[kevmusic]

...was a dual, as predicted. Well, it had been two months, or so. Bruce phoned from his home to say that he was going to be delayed by snow but it was dry and clear in the Medway towns, so off I went. The forecast had given 'significant' snowfalls for east Kent. Hmmm. And the Met had given a northerly wind of some 25 kts at 1,000 feet. More hmmm. At least the wind would be down the unlicensed 'short' runway, 03, and as this was not to be a training flight I could use it for the first time.

I decided to take the less pretty main road route through Maidstone to Headcorn, and as I got past south-east Maidstone, the snow started to get 'significant'. By the North Downs, at Sutton Valence it was really starting to mean it, and by Headcorn it had downright attitude! The depth increased from about 4 to 6 inches while I waited for Bruce. Thanks to the wind no snow appeared to be accumulating on the aircraft.

No-one else had turned up to fly, but on the other hand, no-one had closed the runways - we could potentially fly! At this point let me emphasise that this was not a decision I felt able to make, other than that I would probably have scrubbed long before this point. I have total trust in Bruce's judgement - his attitude and professionalism have kept him safe over forty years of flying and I've always thought that if you do things his way you can't go far wrong. So when Bruce said he would go and check the runways, I said, "I'll go and DI the aircraft". And with collars turned up against the blizzard, we sallied forth.

The aircraft I'd booked was the only Cessna 150 availble - the Aerobat (a new engine meant we couldn't do aerobatics, though) - and I brushed off snow wherever I could find it. The airframe was mostly clear but quite a lot had accumulated behind the leading edges of the ailerons and this needed removing with care: those ailerons are very good finger-shears in a strong and gusty wind!

Bruce took his trusty Blackberry with him, and here is 29/11:

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p88/kevmusic9/IMG01068-20100211-1056.jpg

Open for business! We started up early in the sequence a) to warm up and b) to get moving before the next snow shower came through (it had stopped by now). Taxying fast over the snow we arrived at 03's threshold for a short-field take-off. The upwind boundary fence looked alarmingly close but the strong wind and 'IE's new engine got us into the air in half the length.

We levelled off at 2,300' and headed north-west, and it immediately became apparent how marked the snow boundary between east and west Kent really was.

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p88/kevmusic9/IMG01069-20100211-1151.jpg

Here, Bruce tried me with a couple of steep turns. They were not as neat as I would have liked, but were apparently passable. Then we bimbled about sightseeing for a while before heading back to the airfield.

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p88/kevmusic9/IMG01071-20100211-1222.jpg

It would have been impractical to practise circuits on 03 (too small) so we did them on 11. This was interesting because it made square circuit-keeping a challenging exercise in geometry! I don't think I've flown in such a strong wind before. We did two circuits, one normal and one flapless. The first time I finished downwind I knew base leg was going to be quick (with the wind behind us) but I didn't realise how quick, and I overshot. It seemed to take ages to claw my way back to the extended centre line. Bruce asked me not to touch down, so we floated down the runway, more or less on track, with left wing down and opposite rudder, then we climbed away.

The next circuit was flapless and I managed the final turn a little better.

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p88/kevmusic9/IMG01072-20100211-1227.jpg
Flapless approach to 11. The crosswind from the left was 25 knots at 1,000'.

This time Bruce asked me to gently touch on the left mainwheel. We actually touched on both, despite me being convinced I still had left wing down! Never mind, we were still on the runway and that was what counted. This time we had to climb out to 500' then turn right to be downwind on 03 for a full stop. 03 is 312 metres and I knew we'd be using the wind strength and the snow to bring us in to a stop.

"This will be a performance landing", said Bruce, "So we'll be taking full flap. Turn in any time you like". And so followed one of the most fun landings of my life.

There was no base leg to speak of. We were at quite a high angle to the threshold so I took full flap and reduced to 60 mph. I noticed that there were trees all the way up to the threshold. We came down steeply, but steadily. "Keep the nose down, we use throttle to control speed". Now there's an interesting snippet of new information at this stage! This was high workload but I was loving every minute. We cleared the trees comfortably, but I could see every detail of that boundary fence.....then the mains settled on the snow. It grabbed us like the arrester wires on the Ark Royal, and we trundled sedately off the runway without even having to backtrack. Landing on a short runway? - easy peasy in a strong headwind on snow.........and with an experienced instructor!

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p88/kevmusic9/03approachcropped.jpg
Final approach to 03. The runway is central. The theshold is obscured by the middle propeller stripe and the upwind boundary is just above it.

[kevmusic]

Quick update.:)

I've managed some flying, but with just the one day a week available to do anything not connected with work, then Mrs. Km's birthday and a trip to the doctor's can be added to the list of flying no-gos, alongside the usual culprits. My plan was to convert to a 4-seater initially, but a long, hard look at my rapidly-dwindling flying fund (any other musos finding the gigs hard to come by? :() prompted me to take the quickest possible route to the Tiger Club's Turbs. These give you £65/hr all-in flying, if you like open-cockpit taildraggers - which I do! However, to fly the Turbs, the Tiger Club likes you to graduate by way of the Tiger Moth. What a bummer! Oh well, time to grasp the nettle! :p

Here, I must confess a touch of naivety. I fondly believed the conversion process would invovle a couple of check flights to get you used to the beast. Not a bit of it! There's a whole syllabus to cover, from general handling to navigation. The club sends you up with a "check pilot", who's an instructor in all but name. Mine's a serving RAF instructor, a thouroughly professional guy he is too. We did the upper air work okay and now we're onto circuits.

Now I found the Tiger a pussycat in the air. Light and positive on the controls, though you do have to keep an eye on the slip needle which doesn't always work as expected. For instance, who'd have thought you'd need top rudder in a left-hand climbing turn? Well, in G-ADGT you do! But the day we got onto circuits was a different matter. There was a light northerly crosswind of about 5 knots, and I was all over the place. All over the place on take off, all over the place on landing. I don't think I've had the instructor take over this much for twenty years! Quite a humbling experience, let me tell you. A skittish filly in a crosswind, is the Tiger. More of the same on Thursday.

Last Thursday I thought I needed to do something for myself. I've gone straight onto the Tiger and one way or another I've had the right hand (or front) seat occupied by instructors, examiners and check pilots for the last eighteen months! Since my test I've never sogned out and flown an aircraft all by myself so I thought I'd do just that. I planned a route following the North Kent coast to Sandwich, giving Manston a call, routing down to Dover and so back to Headcorn. 'YL is tech so I used the loaned 152 and had a ball. Weather was clear, the cloudbase drove me lower as I went east, Manston Radar didn't answer my calls (:confused:) the thermals played me up, she flew left wing down and hadn't got as much grunt as 'YL but I had a super time and took loads of piccies.

Next Thursday - back to the Tiger!

[Lister Noble]

If this is your first taste of taildaraggers then your experience is spot on and quite normal.
They feel totally uncontrollable for a time,then it all clicks and you realise you don't need all those large inputs,just lots of small ones.
But there is no quick and easy way,but when you have cracked it,you'll think.

"What was all the fuss about?"

Happy flying,I found the Cub much sweeter to fly than the Tiger Moth.

Lister:)

[kevmusic]

Oppurtunities to fly have been really bad this summer, mainly due to the constant crosswinds over 11/29 which were right outside the Tiger's limits. Owing to the loss of G-ADGT the club are now really picky on the conditions in which it will allow its one remaing Tiger, and the world's most significant (G-ACDC), to be flown.

Nevertheless, I got onto roller landings with the club chairman as check pilot. My first circuit was rubbish but the landing was ok; thereafter I managed proper circuits with a succession of pretty decent roller landings. Next step (a month later :rolleyes:) was more of the same, this time with the club secretary. Afterwards, he began talking about the Jodel (Jodel D150 Mascaret) which, in layout, was most similar to the Turb.

My next session, therefore, was on the Jodel, a type I'd already spent some hours on during a previous spurt of training in '03. As we taxied out it all felt pretty familiar, but after we'd taken off he wanted me to do one or two things differently, such as keeping the speed (downwind) in the white arc and not reducing speed and selecting flap as soon as I turned base. Well, I got high. So high, in fact, that I set up an approach that I couldn't possibly land from (without using every trick in the book), so I did the decent thing and went around. Quite a humiliating moment, and another kev-session that starts with utter crap - and then it all comes good.

As this one did. I then managed to pull off a series of pretty three-points which replaced the "what-the-hell-am-I-going-to-do-with-this-one" look with satisfied nods.

"Well, how do you fancy a go on the Turb?" Those magic words. Finally.

I concentrated very hard to the briefing - it was to be my first solo in a single-seater! - and expected to be limited to a circiuit or two. But when I was told not be longer than 45' I knew I had the green light for a mini-bimble.

So I took off (the Turb has real acceleration on the runway!) headed to 3'000 over Romney Marsh and had a play. It was fantastic.

So now I'm there. I can take up a Turb for £65/hour or be a bit more lavish and fly the Jodel, or perhaps the Cub, or take up one of Weald Aviation's Cessnas if I want. All that dreaming for nearly thirty years has borne fruit. And real life is much better!

[BRL]

Lovely post Kev, nice one :)

[Ahh gee]

Well done Kev.

Congratulations on making the grade. I am struggling along trying to get there too. I had my first trial introductory flight 32 years ago. I have been to 4 schools, flown 5 different types of aircraft, had something like 16 different flying instructors (plenty more ground school instructors) clocked up over 100 hours of flying training and I seem to be going backwards. I passed my GFPT many years ago but am not currently considered ready for solo exercises in the training area. It is very depressing and embarrassing but I am going to continue and complete the training.

I really enjoy flying so I'm going to press on. I just wish that I did not the 'distinction' of having one of the most protracted PPL courses ever.

[maxim99]

Learned to fly at Wolverhampton in the 60,s. and it was time for 3 leg solo X country. January 4th 1967, Auster J1N , G-AHST. Its bitterly cold, grey, overcast. The Auster has no radio,no heater,vis can only be described as adequate. The briefing was only.."Dont hang around its going to snow later" Anyone remembering John Standen will understand!

Got a prop swing at 10am and set off for Sywell. The large compass on the floor and a stopwatch miraculously took me 55minutes later to Sywell. Friendly staff signed my log,gave me hot coffee and at 1130 I set off for Leicester East. Made a turn round the field and when overhead set course for 25 min leg.

At this point things started to deteriorate. The horizon was no longer there and I had to descend to 1500ft to remain clear of cloud.The plastic side window kept vibrating open as the wedge had fallen out,the cold got worse. 10minutes into the flight I became aware that it was starting to snow.
The vis got even poorer and I noticed that the ground was becoming snow covered. I really did not know what to do other than carry on and hope! I had 34 hours total time in my log book. I had only landed once before on a paved runway and found the Auster a bit of a handfull.

I realised that not only did I have to find the field but would have to locate the right runway in the snow. Suddenly at the right time the large hangers slid past my wing and I was coming overhead the airfield. Problem was the T was not visible in the snow. Managed to position just to the west of the field and started down. Could just make out the smooth runway from the grass and made an arrival.

It could not be called a landing as I managed to slide off the strip on to the grass where I came to a stop. I sat for a while until the shakes subsided at which point a jeep arrived with the CFI and helped get The Auster to the parking. I recall asking the CFI if he would sign my log and I would wait for the snow to stop. His words can not be repeated . He obviously wondered why ANYONE would be airborne and doing qualifying X country in that weather.

After thawing out they telephoned W.ton and explained that I would be returning on the train! Oh the ignomy. I was wearing my ex RAF flight suit complete with wings and P.O.s bars.and I recall some wag on the train asking if I had" lost my plane mate"

Two days later the club rang me and asked if I would please go and fetch their Auster to complete my task.

Thinking about it over the years I guess I was lucky, I got my licence and flew for another 30 years !

[kevmusic]

You guys have been with me through the roller coaster ride of my pilot's progress, and have seen the slings and arrows I've had to face along the way. So I feel this thread is the proper place to announce the news that my darling wife and partner of 25 years passed away a month ago.

Never remotely interested in flying herself, she nonetheless knew my passion, and once the kids were packed off to uni. she came up with the plan to finance the dream. She shared all my joy and upsets, we had a little celebration when I got my licence and even videoed me opening the package from the CAA.

She had been ill and disabled for many years, and twice before had been rushed to hospital with the pneumonia that eventually killed her, but carried on teaching and going out shopping and dog-walking to within a few days of the end. A remarkable and strong lady. I don't think I would normally come on PPRuNe to make an announcement of this sort, but she's been so bound up with my story here that I feel I should.

I won't be flying for a little while, of course, but I might wander down to the Tiger Club in the next couple of weeks, just to lend a hand on the ground.

[Lister Noble]

Kev,
I'm very sorry to hear the sad news,but every time you fly you will know she helped you get there.
Best wishes,
Lister

[stiknruda]

Kev,

as I said in a PM to you last week when you informed me of your tragically sad news:- let's aim for your Pitts trip this summer and if it happens in Norfolk, I'm sure that we can arrange to have a pint or two of Adnams in The Bell with Lister!

Just be warned that Lister is not accustomed to quaffing ale in a pub he can walk to! :suspect:

[ChasG]

Kevmusic - I am so sorry to hear your news. i have thoroughly enjoyed reading about the ups and downs of your training.................and admired you for the way you have persevered. I am sure your story has helped many people like myself who think they are alone in being pretty hopeless at times. Very best wishes Chas

[joelgarabedian]

So sorry to hear of your loss Kev. Your thread spurred me on towards the end of my PPL (as I'm sure it has many others), and although I don't post much now, I often read the forums and always smile when I see your name on the left of a post.

Joel.

[kevmusic]

I wanted to resurrect this little thread with a musing on what I did today - which I feel was significant - but in doing so I've had to re-read the last few posts.......I'd forgotten they were there and of course, it's taken the wind out of my sails a bit. Life moves on, you pick up the pieces, time starts its magical healing process and I'm quite enjoying life. And then re-visiting the time these posts were made has sobered me up a bit.

And yet, here I am, I've had a few minutes to reflect and I have to proceed. After the rain and squalls of the last week or so I was glad that the weather smiled on my booking in the Luscombe for today. I was alone at the field, and having done the walk-round, wheeled her out into the sun for start-up. Well that was the plan, but a flat battery decided otherwise. So I let the sun warm things up a bit, made a couple of pleading phone calls, then tried again. This time the battery just about swung the prop and she burst into life! But she wouldn't hold it below 1200 rpm. 14-1500, yes, but when I took it back to twelve she just died. And the battery, being dynamo-driven, didn't have the juice to do it again. Another pleading phone call, and it was suggested I try to swing the prop on my own.

Okay, I've swung props but never on my own. Here was a dilemma. People swing props on there own, climb in and fly. But it sounds scary! I'm a pianist! I don't want to be chewed up molto presto! On the other hand, I could just turn the aircraft around, line up and push her back into the hangar, and just hope it's going to be flyable again the next time I'm available to fly.

I grabbed the biggest pair of chocks I could find and set them firmly against the wheels, with the ropes arranged for easy pull-away. I estimated that a certain amount of my earlier priming would have been sucked through/evaporated and guessed another prime might be in order. I set the throttle open a 1/4 inch, mags on both and master on. With butterflies in my stomach I took the blade in the way I'd been taught at the Tiger Club and gave her a swing.

To my amazement, she fired into sustained life straight away. And to my relief, she didn't climb the chocks and chew me into little pieces, nor did she tear off into the side of the hangar. She just sat exactly where she'd been, only much more noisily. I climbed into the cockpit and found that she'd settled into 1200 rpm all of her own accord! I sat, relieved and triumphant for a few minutes, to let her warm up, before reducing the throttle somewhat and gingerly removing the chocks, one-by-one. Thereafter, I continued the checks, and went flying.

I felt I'd got to real grass-roots aviation. I've still got only a very few hours but I'm building experience and having a complete ball with it. So up it goes on this thread, with your good folks' indulgence, as I enjoy all these milestones.

God bless sweetheart, thank you for making it happen.

[PhDKrisPPL]

Started my CAA PPL in June 1988 at White Waltham (aged 19 years). Did 33 hrs, incl 4 hrs solo in PA28. Didn't do any more flying after April 1989.

Luckily I kept hold of my logbook.

Resumed flying with Tayside (C152) in June 2011. Progress was delayed initially as I was ready to go solo again within 5 hrs, but no Air Law.

Passed all exams first time. JAR PPL issued 29th Feb 2012.

My advice to those who resume flying after a long time out is to make a start on your Air Law asap. You will find that your ability to fly still exists, albeit a little bit rusty. Work like crazy and get all the remaining exams out of the way in good time. You don't want to sit exams on the same day as flying.

[loaded as a dice]

HI Kevmusic, I've just read your thread from start to now, (it's never finished!). Totally blown away, you have my full admiration and if you ever fly into Sherburn in Elmet, pm me, i'd like to buy you a drink!!!

[kevmusic]

Thank you, loaded! I will certainly let you know! And thanks to you, Silvaire, for your (as ever) helpful advice.

[loaded as a dice]

Kevmusic, your very welcome :ok: