Strange flight

[Insight]

Managed to get up and go flying today despite the weather, we were the only aircraft that went up from the airfield while I was there which was very odd. I am used to Wycombe being so busy!

A few rain showers about but it was lovely and smooth up there... I am only at about 6-7 hours but hell, I love flying :) Brilliant, had anticipated not flying today so still buzzing from actually getting to go up!

</pointless thread> :)

[XX621]

Glad you got airborne - flying in less than perfect weather with an instructor is something of great value to you whilst doing a PPL, imho.

You found it quiet because, unfortunately, the prevailing attitude amongst FTOs in this country is to stay put in the clubhouse sipping coffee rather than run even the tiniest bit of risk that they may run one of their precious flying machines and/or one of their cheap airline wannabee instructors into a gust of wind or a wisp of cloud.

I did my SEP revalidation in November 2006 with a highly experienced examiner and to my surprise we took off and conducted the flight in weather I would never had dreamed of flying in. Not in a zillion years. But you know what? it wasn't that bad...and boy was it a pricess learning experience.

[Insight]

Yeh, I saw a young pilot turn up to fly with the other club up at WAP and he was turned away. The exercise we had planned for the day was conducive to this sort of weather though.

It was interesting, experiencing various levels of visibility and skirting round round showers etc, the landing was fun too, even if I did bugger it up a bit (aircraft still works, so do I, so it can't have been that bad!).

We rolled up to the hangar and the rain rolled in properly :) Ace timing!

[XX621]

Sounds like you had a very worthwhile trip. I was hoping to get airborne on a hire slot today, but as the TAF suggested rain showers in the afternoon I knew I would have been greeted with the "anti-reckless pilot" squad if I had pitched up. So didn't bother.

My comments about FTOs are, of course, a generalisation - but one based on evidence. There is a balance to be struck between going flying (which is inherently risky anyway) and taking plain stupid risks. Unfortunately, I don't think a lot of PPL factories are very good at helping you attain that balance once you have your licence.

[Duchess_Driver]

Exercise 18c and 19 - RIS from the new Farnborough 'North'. Result. Then back for some 12/13.

[will5023]

Yes us too! , managed to fly in the good weather slot from south coast, had lunch at White Waltham, even though it had a Hughes Heli blast through the circuit un-annouced and then fly at me while on the dead side at 1000ft, all part of the fun. My passenger was impressed by the heavy metal passing overhead and the lunch at W.W.
Got back by 3pm to fly the cub with a student, change the oil while it rained and then fly for another 45mins of circuits, approaches and slidslips. Just wish that we could get 2 days of sunshine !!

Will.

[Gertrude the Wombat]

Went flying today, IMC lesson, used the ILS for real to get down through cloud.

On returning to the club we were asked what the cloud base was by other people trying to decide whether to go flying ... and had to say that we hadn't a clue, really, as neither of us had been looking out of the window much.

[BeechNut]

Flew myself today in similar weather on the other side of the pond. Short 20 min. hop to another field where the fuel is $0.13 per liter cheaper, myself in my Sundowner, and two friends, one in an A36 Bonanza and the other in a C-150 (he's actually the highest time pilot among us, 1000+ hours, multi-IFR, CPL, and taildragger experience, he also owns a PA-16). Snow and rain showers. Oddly, a temperature inversion had a fog near the deck and below us, as well as clouds above. Vis was so-so, maybe 3 miles tops, but legal. Temp. was near -3C at the destination field, but 0 at 2000 ft, and at our home field. Odd such a change in weather in about 20 n.m. We got the fuel ($200 for 131 liters in my Sundowner), and headed back before the weather closed in. Very little wind on the ground, air smooth as silk, 122 knots GS going and about 99 kts coming home. Thanks to the nearly calm winds, the landings were both greasers.

It sometimes is actually more fun in this kind of weather. Fewer planes in the air, smooth conditions, and just a bit of challenge. The local school had their 172 in the air but the renter was forbidden from leaving the circuit. That's one reason why I eventually bought my own plane.