From Zero to Forty Five - my PPL Diary
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Thanks Whirley! For the record, the ones I got wrong were not perhaps of the "important" category. My comment "a pass is a pass" was meant to display my disappointment after getting much higher marks in the mocks. I think it was a case of exam nerves!!
There are few people that take safety and it's associated rules more seriously than myself. For the past 40 years I have worked in a very dangerous environment, where one mistake can seriously injure people. My other passion is sailing, and I take my 38' yacht across the Channel through some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, and in the Atlantic as far as the Canaries. I would never put myself, my crew or indeed my boat in harms way - I am a very cautious sailor. Sensible comment/advice I certainly welcome, but I do not need the likes of someone who calls himself "Gertrude the Wombat" (!) lecturing me on the need to take the rules of flying anything other than very seriously.
If I've overreacted to his aggressively put comments, then so be it......
There are few people that take safety and it's associated rules more seriously than myself. For the past 40 years I have worked in a very dangerous environment, where one mistake can seriously injure people. My other passion is sailing, and I take my 38' yacht across the Channel through some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, and in the Atlantic as far as the Canaries. I would never put myself, my crew or indeed my boat in harms way - I am a very cautious sailor. Sensible comment/advice I certainly welcome, but I do not need the likes of someone who calls himself "Gertrude the Wombat" (!) lecturing me on the need to take the rules of flying anything other than very seriously.
If I've overreacted to his aggressively put comments, then so be it......
Spicy Meatball
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Oh dear - I think Gertrude was being a little over sensible but has valid points. I dont think I would stay grounded though at the thought of you flying mate, that was a little harsh. I have just passed my RT written, and I was bloody happy to pass it. The pass mark is 80% and that's what I got. I was a little dissapointed to be honest, like it's been said, I am usually in the 95% area - but I was glad to have passed. The good thing to do, was to go over the questions I got wrong with my instructor, note down the topic, and then read up on it later - I didn't just brush it aside and celebrate a pass, because RT is very important. The questions I got wrong were easy, and I went in with the attitude that "I knew it all" which in turn meant I didn't read the question properly. A good lesson learned - you never know it all and you need to read the question slowly and use the exam time your are allocated!
Very well done indeed for passing - you have done 3 air law exams now and as you progress in your flying, it all actually does fit into place, and you will see that Air Law is there for a reason
Very well done indeed for passing - you have done 3 air law exams now and as you progress in your flying, it all actually does fit into place, and you will see that Air Law is there for a reason
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A close shave Mazzy - no doubt Gertrude will want to stay grounded when you are flying!!! I have to say though, even you have assumed wrongly that I seemed to think Air Law is just an exam to get out of the way! I don't remember anything other than the "pass is a pass" quip, which you all seem to have taken the wrong way - I repeat, it was a comment to express relief at actually passing. Before I got the result, I telephoned my wife to say that I thought I'd flunked it. I genuinely thought I would only get about 60%. I was really rattled!!. Panic began to set in around question 20 - it seemed I knew the answers really, but couldn't persuade myself that I did, if that makes sense. The icing on the cake was changing two answers from right to wrong!!
Like you, after mocks with up to 95%, perhaps I was a little too self assured. The questions seemed to be rather more "oblique" than experienced in the mocks (more like those in the aptly named Confuser). I spent days/weeks on the damned subject and perhaps became over confident.
Still, enough of this subject - I'm supposedly up again this afternoon, though at present the visability is marginal.
Cheers all........
Like you, after mocks with up to 95%, perhaps I was a little too self assured. The questions seemed to be rather more "oblique" than experienced in the mocks (more like those in the aptly named Confuser). I spent days/weeks on the damned subject and perhaps became over confident.
Still, enough of this subject - I'm supposedly up again this afternoon, though at present the visability is marginal.
Cheers all........
Spicy Meatball
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I have to say though, even you have assumed wrongly that I seemed to think Air Law is just an exam to get out of the way!
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Sorry, Mazzy if it seems I've introduced a sour note on an otherwise great thread, though I didn't deliberately start it!! I do accept everything you say on the subject of exams, of course....
Cheers
Mike
Cheers
Mike
Spicy Meatball
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Hey, where would we be without a little sourness here and there 
Keep up the good work mate!
Well, I had such an amazing flight yesterday. I figured I still had 40 mins slow flight to do, so we went on a little sight seeing flight down the coast of Wales, towards Rhyll. What a beautiful flight it was - a little misty but the scenery was fantastic - never actually been down that way before, but I can see myself flying down there when I have my license.
The order of the day was to fly slow in different configurations, including with flap (different stages) and how to be able to climb, say at 65 kts then level off, whilst still remaining 65kts. It wasn't too difficult to be honest, set the desired RPM (there are set figures which should work - these usually require a little tweaking to get it right).
I learned quite a bit on this flight, first of all, when you decrease the RPM to say 1700RPM and let the aircraft settle, the RPM will continue to drop for about another 500 RPM by itself, this is due to the aicraft actually slowing down, which results in less airflow, in turn slowing the prop down. The same works in the opposite, when you increase RPM. This is vitally important because you THINK you are all set up, but what actually happens is that you will begin to descend - you need increase the PRM ever so slightly, after you have slowed down. I figured this out after I kept descending
With the flaps down was a different ball game. This is an excellent way to illustrate the "throttle for height - controls for speed". What happens is, during slow flight, if you lower a stage of flap, the airspeed will bleed off, UNLESS you lower the nose. If you lower the nose to keep the airspeed, you will descend, as you are pointing to the ground. This is where the throttle comes in, if you increase the power to stop the descent, the result is a lower nose attitude, in straight and level slow flight. This gives you better visibility forward as you dont have a high nose attitude to maintain a high angle of attack.
Another thing that I need to get used to - when you reduce the RPM you will have significant left yaw, due to the reduction of the slipstream. I have always know this and have usually always compensated for it - however, when in constant level slow flight, the aircraft seems to always want to yaw, and I found that I kept losing heading to the left quite a bit. Flying is so much easier when the aircraft is in trim - this is an art and I am beggining to get the grasp of it. I now remove my hands from the controls and use my feet to steer the aircraft (just to test the trim). This is also good for when your hands are full or you are mapreading etc.
To conclude, a fantastic enjoyable 1Hr 30Mins flight - down the Welsh coast. I have completed the legally required time for slow flght anyway.
It's great to see those who are doing their QXC and that everyone (almost everyone) is flying. Keep it up and safe flying
Lee
Keep up the good work mate! Well, I had such an amazing flight yesterday. I figured I still had 40 mins slow flight to do, so we went on a little sight seeing flight down the coast of Wales, towards Rhyll. What a beautiful flight it was - a little misty but the scenery was fantastic - never actually been down that way before, but I can see myself flying down there when I have my license.
The order of the day was to fly slow in different configurations, including with flap (different stages) and how to be able to climb, say at 65 kts then level off, whilst still remaining 65kts. It wasn't too difficult to be honest, set the desired RPM (there are set figures which should work - these usually require a little tweaking to get it right).
I learned quite a bit on this flight, first of all, when you decrease the RPM to say 1700RPM and let the aircraft settle, the RPM will continue to drop for about another 500 RPM by itself, this is due to the aicraft actually slowing down, which results in less airflow, in turn slowing the prop down. The same works in the opposite, when you increase RPM. This is vitally important because you THINK you are all set up, but what actually happens is that you will begin to descend - you need increase the PRM ever so slightly, after you have slowed down. I figured this out after I kept descending
With the flaps down was a different ball game. This is an excellent way to illustrate the "throttle for height - controls for speed". What happens is, during slow flight, if you lower a stage of flap, the airspeed will bleed off, UNLESS you lower the nose. If you lower the nose to keep the airspeed, you will descend, as you are pointing to the ground. This is where the throttle comes in, if you increase the power to stop the descent, the result is a lower nose attitude, in straight and level slow flight. This gives you better visibility forward as you dont have a high nose attitude to maintain a high angle of attack.
Another thing that I need to get used to - when you reduce the RPM you will have significant left yaw, due to the reduction of the slipstream. I have always know this and have usually always compensated for it - however, when in constant level slow flight, the aircraft seems to always want to yaw, and I found that I kept losing heading to the left quite a bit. Flying is so much easier when the aircraft is in trim - this is an art and I am beggining to get the grasp of it. I now remove my hands from the controls and use my feet to steer the aircraft (just to test the trim). This is also good for when your hands are full or you are mapreading etc.
To conclude, a fantastic enjoyable 1Hr 30Mins flight - down the Welsh coast. I have completed the legally required time for slow flght anyway.
It's great to see those who are doing their QXC and that everyone (almost everyone) is flying. Keep it up and safe flying
Lee
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I think Gertrude was being a little over sensible but has valid points
I wasn't really trying to get at anyone in particular, just a general reminder that "learning to pass the exam" is not what it's about, as I know that there are a number of younger students here who have spent much of their life so far "learning to pass exams" and could possibly find a nudge out of that mindset helpful. Sorry if I annoyed anyone unreasonably.
Spicy Meatball
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The only problem I have with exam technique, is when people dont read the course books, but merely study the confuser in order to remember the questions etc. It is important to understand the question, not just know the answer
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"learning to pass the exam" is not what it's about, as I know that there are a number of younger students here who have spent much of their life so far "learning to pass exams" and could possibly find a nudge out of that mindset helpful.
V1R
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Concerning aviation exams...
This is a difficult one. Since I started flying in 1997 I've learned lots about flying, nav, met etc etc...and I've also learned lots about passing exams. Unfortunately, these two things have sometimes been very different.
Where Air Law is concerned, in Real Life I've memorised the stuff I really need to know, like rights of way, what the different bits of the signal square mean, all about controlled airspace, and where to look up anything else I might need to know. For the exams...well, I have vague memories of Chicago conventions, something odd about rights when an aircraft from one country flies across another country and lands in a third one
, and how to work out what the CAA means with ambiguous sounding sentences about five lines long.
For met, I've learned when flying to get a feel for what's actually happening and what those cirrus clouds really mean, the best places to look for wx forecasts on the internet, and when to realise that nobody has a clue what the weather is going to do. For the exams, I learned to interpret TAFs four lines long with abbreviations I could look up if they ever appeared, which they didn't...like volcanic ash, in North Wales!!!
For human factors I learned for the exams to forget that I have a degree in psychology and many years of working with people, and just to memorise what the CAA said were the right answers. A radio ham friend had a similar problem with CPL Radio Aids - forget reality; just learn what the answers are supposed to be.
So I have no problem with people learning to pass exams - because IMHO that's what you have to do - a result of the whole multiple choice system of testing really. But just make sure you actually learn what you need in order to be a good pilot as well.
Sorry to go off at a tangent, but I think it's actually very relevant.
This is a difficult one. Since I started flying in 1997 I've learned lots about flying, nav, met etc etc...and I've also learned lots about passing exams. Unfortunately, these two things have sometimes been very different.
Where Air Law is concerned, in Real Life I've memorised the stuff I really need to know, like rights of way, what the different bits of the signal square mean, all about controlled airspace, and where to look up anything else I might need to know. For the exams...well, I have vague memories of Chicago conventions, something odd about rights when an aircraft from one country flies across another country and lands in a third one
, and how to work out what the CAA means with ambiguous sounding sentences about five lines long.For met, I've learned when flying to get a feel for what's actually happening and what those cirrus clouds really mean, the best places to look for wx forecasts on the internet, and when to realise that nobody has a clue what the weather is going to do. For the exams, I learned to interpret TAFs four lines long with abbreviations I could look up if they ever appeared, which they didn't...like volcanic ash, in North Wales!!!
For human factors I learned for the exams to forget that I have a degree in psychology and many years of working with people, and just to memorise what the CAA said were the right answers. A radio ham friend had a similar problem with CPL Radio Aids - forget reality; just learn what the answers are supposed to be.
So I have no problem with people learning to pass exams - because IMHO that's what you have to do - a result of the whole multiple choice system of testing really. But just make sure you actually learn what you need in order to be a good pilot as well.
Sorry to go off at a tangent, but I think it's actually very relevant.
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Hi All,
Well, my flying career isn't continuing very well at the moment. I haven't managed a single lesson since the beginning of January - all cancelled due to the weather (my personal raincloud again).
It was a relief to satisfy the urge by getting in the back of a 757 yesterday for a short domestic hop!
I have read all of the comments re. exams with interest. I agree entirely with sentiments that, as students and qualified PPLs, we need to understand the subjects covered by the exams. How many of us can remember every rule in the Highway Code? We still drive. Good pilots read lots and continue to learn throughout their careers.
However, as I have pointed out on a couple of occasions, the CAA questions are not only written in a confusing way, but some of their 'correct' answers are rather dubious in fact. (See my comments in an earlier post on the human factors - time to avoid a collision question). This makes 100% passes somewhat unlikely for the majority.
From what I've read, I think everyone on this thread aims to be safe and professional. Flying is a privilege. Safety is going to be improved by mature and open discussion. Not by jumping on anyone who writes a word out of place.
I've noted the apologies passed between those concerned, but I also hope we can continue discussions in a more positive and friendly manner. That might set an example to some of our 'professional' colleagues on their part of PPRUNE!
HH
Well, my flying career isn't continuing very well at the moment. I haven't managed a single lesson since the beginning of January - all cancelled due to the weather (my personal raincloud again).
It was a relief to satisfy the urge by getting in the back of a 757 yesterday for a short domestic hop!
I have read all of the comments re. exams with interest. I agree entirely with sentiments that, as students and qualified PPLs, we need to understand the subjects covered by the exams. How many of us can remember every rule in the Highway Code? We still drive. Good pilots read lots and continue to learn throughout their careers.
However, as I have pointed out on a couple of occasions, the CAA questions are not only written in a confusing way, but some of their 'correct' answers are rather dubious in fact. (See my comments in an earlier post on the human factors - time to avoid a collision question). This makes 100% passes somewhat unlikely for the majority.
From what I've read, I think everyone on this thread aims to be safe and professional. Flying is a privilege. Safety is going to be improved by mature and open discussion. Not by jumping on anyone who writes a word out of place.
I've noted the apologies passed between those concerned, but I also hope we can continue discussions in a more positive and friendly manner. That might set an example to some of our 'professional' colleagues on their part of PPRUNE!
HH
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This might help us all get back to the thread.
Flew last Wednesday did a few flapless landings with my instructor , then he hopped out and i went and did five of my own , plus one go around. I was told to continue approach and could see the reason why there was one of the airport cars driving down 28, i kept it coming but with the extra speed due to lack of flaps , it seemed as though i would catch him up so i called the go around.
Between my first and second flight we were forced to hold on 28 after landing whilst a banner tower tried to drop the banner after a few goes it coudnt , so we moved back to the apron and it landed on the runway still dragging the banner followed by all the fire engines!
Thursday was my first Nav Blackpool-Kirby Lonsdale-Arnside viaduct-Blackpool i had previously had a days groundschool with Tony one of my instructors it left me feeling pretty confident ,which he told me could be a big mistake.
Took of on 31 set climb at 65knts and then set heading 025 ,got to my first feature which is where it should have been and on time, levelled of at 2500 back to 90 knts and tried to hold height and heading , as Tony put it ,if you have got time to think how nice it is , theres something else you should be doing.
Arrived over the Lune and was a bit suprised i had a feeling i might have been on the wrong bend but wasnt 100% sure,the timings were correct so i flew on looked out of the right window, bugger me somebody had moved the M6 it was on the wrong side, i called Tonys attention to this fact and i felt pretty gutted he said to find Kirby Lonsdale from here so i had a look at the map made a turn and went pretty much straight to it and still arrived on time!
My heading to arnside was spot on and we flew directly over the middle of the viaduct , so after my earlier error this felt much better.
Time to turn towards home i set my heading and arrived over Heysham nuclear power station a minute early and slightly to the right of it. Continuing across the bay it was obvious that yet again my heading was out and that i needed to be further left so i corrected for this and reached the point 3 minutes early, i was a bit miffed and wondered what i had done differently whilst working out the three headings.
For the first time we did an overhead join followed by three glide approaches they were all pretty good landings as Tony said a good landing is when you hear the wheels just start to rub on the runway.
Well it was in to the classroom to work out where i went wrong, lines were redrawn , tracks measured the wind calculations done , variation added and guess what we both had the same figures and they were the same as the ones on my plog.
Tony checked with the tower for the windspeed and direction it was the same as the 214 form we had used and he said that it was obviously stonger than forecast , but at least i had spotted an error , told him and then done something about it. Up again Monday steep turns, pfls and then in the a'noon Blackpool-Wigan-Clitheroe-Blackpool hope it all goes well.
Flew last Wednesday did a few flapless landings with my instructor , then he hopped out and i went and did five of my own , plus one go around. I was told to continue approach and could see the reason why there was one of the airport cars driving down 28, i kept it coming but with the extra speed due to lack of flaps , it seemed as though i would catch him up so i called the go around.
Between my first and second flight we were forced to hold on 28 after landing whilst a banner tower tried to drop the banner after a few goes it coudnt , so we moved back to the apron and it landed on the runway still dragging the banner followed by all the fire engines!
Thursday was my first Nav Blackpool-Kirby Lonsdale-Arnside viaduct-Blackpool i had previously had a days groundschool with Tony one of my instructors it left me feeling pretty confident ,which he told me could be a big mistake.
Took of on 31 set climb at 65knts and then set heading 025 ,got to my first feature which is where it should have been and on time, levelled of at 2500 back to 90 knts and tried to hold height and heading , as Tony put it ,if you have got time to think how nice it is , theres something else you should be doing.
Arrived over the Lune and was a bit suprised i had a feeling i might have been on the wrong bend but wasnt 100% sure,the timings were correct so i flew on looked out of the right window, bugger me somebody had moved the M6 it was on the wrong side, i called Tonys attention to this fact and i felt pretty gutted he said to find Kirby Lonsdale from here so i had a look at the map made a turn and went pretty much straight to it and still arrived on time!
My heading to arnside was spot on and we flew directly over the middle of the viaduct , so after my earlier error this felt much better.
Time to turn towards home i set my heading and arrived over Heysham nuclear power station a minute early and slightly to the right of it. Continuing across the bay it was obvious that yet again my heading was out and that i needed to be further left so i corrected for this and reached the point 3 minutes early, i was a bit miffed and wondered what i had done differently whilst working out the three headings.
For the first time we did an overhead join followed by three glide approaches they were all pretty good landings as Tony said a good landing is when you hear the wheels just start to rub on the runway.
Well it was in to the classroom to work out where i went wrong, lines were redrawn , tracks measured the wind calculations done , variation added and guess what we both had the same figures and they were the same as the ones on my plog.
Tony checked with the tower for the windspeed and direction it was the same as the 214 form we had used and he said that it was obviously stonger than forecast , but at least i had spotted an error , told him and then done something about it. Up again Monday steep turns, pfls and then in the a'noon Blackpool-Wigan-Clitheroe-Blackpool hope it all goes well.
Last edited by Bob Stinger; 19th Feb 2005 at 13:00.
Spicy Meatball
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Ok, I am cheating a little here:
http://groups.msn.com/PPLFlyingPictures/flyingpics.msnw
This will be my photo diary - anyone can view it. Bookmark it if you like, as I will update it regularly
Back to viewing prune as we know it
http://groups.msn.com/PPLFlyingPictures/flyingpics.msnw
This will be my photo diary - anyone can view it. Bookmark it if you like, as I will update it regularly
Back to viewing prune as we know it
Last edited by mazzy1026; 22nd Feb 2005 at 15:34.
Spicy Meatball
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Probably one of the best things I have done so far was to write this diary. So many people have emailed me as a result of it, and I am making lots of good friends. That’s what happened about two weeks ago, a chap, Paul, emailed me and said he liked the diary, and told me where he lived, and that he was a PPL at Liverpool – by some amazing coincidence, we live within 1 mile of each other, share exactly the same interests (computer wise) and both love flying. Paul has his PPL, and offered to take me for a flight, which was on Saturday. So we spoke on the phone and thought about the Northern route (Leyland, Southport) but agreed that a trip to Wolverhampton (the southern route that I have to fly solo) would be the best. So I had a go at the flight plan before I set off for good practice – Paul can fly this one visual no problem, but it was good for me. So we got there and started planning what we were going to do. I learned quite a bit today – first thing I did was to call Wolverhampton and let them know that we were coming. Ok this seems pretty simple (which it is) but it is something that I haven’t done before, which was to book a flight! The chap at the other end was very helpful and luckily he never asked me any questions I couldn’t answer. He gave me the active runway, the weather, joining instructions and even the QNH at the time. So there was some experience for me. Sounds daft I know, but it gave me confidence.
So, onwards and upwards. This was to be my first flight, as a non-student. It’s amazing how different it actually felt flying. To me, this is what it was all about, flying with friends and enjoying it. To be honest, it made me want my PPL even more, and I kind of felt a little ‘left out’ if you know what I mean. Sort of like when all your friends are driving before you as you are the youngest one! As I have my RT in the bag, I could help out on the radio – which was brilliant as I could participate more and fell like I was doing something worthy. So we set off with a howling tail wind and it took us about 25 mins to get there. Paul did have a GPS, but I used the map as much as possible and tried not to look at the screen. It is amazing though how much workload one of the devices can take off you – they are amazing. But they are another story, and this has been battered to death on prune!
It was a glorious day with great visibility and pretty much no cloud at all. I found that I was quite good at spotting things we were looking for, mainly airfields. I could spot out Cosford, Shawbury, Poulton and Hawarden no problem – something which Paul may have something to say about!! We spotted Wolverhampton quite a way off, due to the good vis etc. We actually used the GPS just to maintain heading, as I fear the wind had changed after I done my plan – I could spot all the towns and cities etc, like Wrexham, and Crew so it wasn’t too difficult (I probably wont be saying that when I am doing it solo!).
It was actually the first time I had done an overhead join, as they are not allowed at Liverpool, so it was interesting to see how they worked. When we landed we met up with Jim, a friend of Paul’s and he took him for a 20 minute jolly – this was his first ever flight, and he did feel a bit sick, but I am sure the night out that was planned still went ahead! I actually didn’t know this but, when you hire an aircraft, you only pay for the flight time – not the entire time you have it. At first, I was concerned because I thought it would be impossible to land away and have the ‘hundred pound burger’ without paying full fares whilst it was sat on the ground. So as long as the aircraft is available, I could take it all day (it would have to be pretty available!) and only pay for flight time. Brilliant.
So, quite a few cups of tea later, we set off back for Liverpool. We had lots of trouble with the radio when we called up Cosford. Readability was easily 1 and couldn’t make out a word they were saying. We basically transmitted that we would remain east abeam the field and well clear of any traffic, then switched over to Liverpool. We did try Shawbury but they were closed (the military and the weekend do not mix!). as a result of adjusting the squelch on the radio, all was much clearer – and I done the rest of the radio to Liverpool. Paul asked me “would you like to put the initial call to Liverpool”? I was going to say no, as I find these most difficult, but I thought to myself “if I keep putting this off I will never get it right”. So I did it, and got it right. A very good confidence builder indeed.
Coming back it was great to be able to pick out local features to the South, as most of my flying is done to the north as you know. We could see weather coming in pretty quick from the west, including snow showers and increasing low cloud, so we wanted to get back as soon as. We had to orbit a couple of times and Oulton Park and we were actually given number 7 initially. Eventually, we got onto left base and Paul touched it down brilliant, given the strong crosswind. Overall it was an excellent day, I learned a lot and is all good experience. Like I say, I am glad I wrote this diary, otherwise I wouldn’t be doing things like this – even next week I am going up for some aerobatics in a Chipmunk, not as a result of my diary, but as a result of meeting a chap who co-owns it. That was a bit of inspiration from the ‘Quitting Flying’ thread, as I am sure Whirly will understand
Paul is an excellent pilot, and I look forward to another flight with him soon - hope you can make a post here shortly mate
Sorry for the long post, hoping to make some navigation entries soon.
Best wishes,
Lee
So, onwards and upwards. This was to be my first flight, as a non-student. It’s amazing how different it actually felt flying. To me, this is what it was all about, flying with friends and enjoying it. To be honest, it made me want my PPL even more, and I kind of felt a little ‘left out’ if you know what I mean. Sort of like when all your friends are driving before you as you are the youngest one! As I have my RT in the bag, I could help out on the radio – which was brilliant as I could participate more and fell like I was doing something worthy. So we set off with a howling tail wind and it took us about 25 mins to get there. Paul did have a GPS, but I used the map as much as possible and tried not to look at the screen. It is amazing though how much workload one of the devices can take off you – they are amazing. But they are another story, and this has been battered to death on prune!
It was a glorious day with great visibility and pretty much no cloud at all. I found that I was quite good at spotting things we were looking for, mainly airfields. I could spot out Cosford, Shawbury, Poulton and Hawarden no problem – something which Paul may have something to say about!! We spotted Wolverhampton quite a way off, due to the good vis etc. We actually used the GPS just to maintain heading, as I fear the wind had changed after I done my plan – I could spot all the towns and cities etc, like Wrexham, and Crew so it wasn’t too difficult (I probably wont be saying that when I am doing it solo!).
It was actually the first time I had done an overhead join, as they are not allowed at Liverpool, so it was interesting to see how they worked. When we landed we met up with Jim, a friend of Paul’s and he took him for a 20 minute jolly – this was his first ever flight, and he did feel a bit sick, but I am sure the night out that was planned still went ahead! I actually didn’t know this but, when you hire an aircraft, you only pay for the flight time – not the entire time you have it. At first, I was concerned because I thought it would be impossible to land away and have the ‘hundred pound burger’ without paying full fares whilst it was sat on the ground. So as long as the aircraft is available, I could take it all day (it would have to be pretty available!) and only pay for flight time. Brilliant.
So, quite a few cups of tea later, we set off back for Liverpool. We had lots of trouble with the radio when we called up Cosford. Readability was easily 1 and couldn’t make out a word they were saying. We basically transmitted that we would remain east abeam the field and well clear of any traffic, then switched over to Liverpool. We did try Shawbury but they were closed (the military and the weekend do not mix!). as a result of adjusting the squelch on the radio, all was much clearer – and I done the rest of the radio to Liverpool. Paul asked me “would you like to put the initial call to Liverpool”? I was going to say no, as I find these most difficult, but I thought to myself “if I keep putting this off I will never get it right”. So I did it, and got it right. A very good confidence builder indeed.
Coming back it was great to be able to pick out local features to the South, as most of my flying is done to the north as you know. We could see weather coming in pretty quick from the west, including snow showers and increasing low cloud, so we wanted to get back as soon as. We had to orbit a couple of times and Oulton Park and we were actually given number 7 initially. Eventually, we got onto left base and Paul touched it down brilliant, given the strong crosswind. Overall it was an excellent day, I learned a lot and is all good experience. Like I say, I am glad I wrote this diary, otherwise I wouldn’t be doing things like this – even next week I am going up for some aerobatics in a Chipmunk, not as a result of my diary, but as a result of meeting a chap who co-owns it. That was a bit of inspiration from the ‘Quitting Flying’ thread, as I am sure Whirly will understand
Paul is an excellent pilot, and I look forward to another flight with him soon - hope you can make a post here shortly mate
Sorry for the long post, hoping to make some navigation entries soon.
Best wishes,
Lee
PPruNaholic!
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Buckinghamshire
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Excellent post Mazzy! One of the best things to do is fly with other PPLs, before or after you get your license, as you will elarn a lot - from each other!
Sounds like you're doing everything right: keep learning and keep on enjoying it!
Andy
Sounds like you're doing everything right: keep learning and keep on enjoying it!
Andy