From Zero to Forty Five - my PPL Diary
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Mazzy,
Very many congratulations chap. I was only introduced to this site about a week ago and have spent the last few days reading this thread. Your every work kept me clinging to the edge of my chair! Ever thought of being an author? I've picked up so many little hints and tips reading this thread posted by everyone active on this thread - invaluable.
Well done once again mate
AV8
Very many congratulations chap. I was only introduced to this site about a week ago and have spent the last few days reading this thread. Your every work kept me clinging to the edge of my chair! Ever thought of being an author? I've picked up so many little hints and tips reading this thread posted by everyone active on this thread - invaluable.
Well done once again mate
AV8
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Originally Posted by GonTek
Well Done Lee.
PPL at last !!!!!
Happyeater and JWF soon ?
PPL at last !!!!!
Happyeater and JWF soon ?
Young JWF could well beat me to it!!
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With a bit of luck it won't be too long. As for beating happyeater to it - I doubt it! 2 exams and 30 hours isn't good! Next week that'll hopefully be 32 hours and 4 exams though!
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Originally Posted by jwforeman
With a bit of luck it won't be too long. As for beating happyeater to it - I doubt it! 2 exams and 30 hours isn't good! Next week that'll hopefully be 32 hours and 4 exams though!
I am 44.5 hours towards the PPL,done all exams except R/T practical which I do next week.
Was due for QXC today but beaten by the weather.
The weekend met does not look promising and I'd much rather be doing the QXC in excellent vis than struggling around with min vis requirement.
Seriously though, it is not a race,is it? .
No pressure then!
Lister
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It is a race for some. I'm in no hurry really, want to learn properly than rush and do something daft in the air. I think I've done it the right way, quite comfortable with how it's gone so far (apart from the QXC episode!).
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Nah it's not a race for me either, as long as I've got the ticket before I up sticks to university (or job) I'll be happy. I've a massive summer holiday this year, so I can get it all finished up then if I haven't already.
But yeah, not a race by any means (I have got 5 pence on happyeater beating me to it though!).
I'm now officially depressed though, the weather on Sunday looks terrible, so I'll probably have to wait another week for the QXC...I'll revise for met instead!
But yeah, not a race by any means (I have got 5 pence on happyeater beating me to it though!).
I'm now officially depressed though, the weather on Sunday looks terrible, so I'll probably have to wait another week for the QXC...I'll revise for met instead!
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JWF,looks like we both have the same prob with weather for the QXC.
It is definitely not a race for me or I would have gone to the US,I have enjoyed the last 8 months training and hope to have my licence by early Spring.
I think we will all miss Mazzy's literary input,I for one am not too good at the written word and admire anyone with that gift.
Am now just going out to do a little sun dance for tomorrow and Sunday.
Lister
It is definitely not a race for me or I would have gone to the US,I have enjoyed the last 8 months training and hope to have my licence by early Spring.
I think we will all miss Mazzy's literary input,I for one am not too good at the written word and admire anyone with that gift.
Am now just going out to do a little sun dance for tomorrow and Sunday.
Lister
Spicy Meatball
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I remember going through a phase of frustration concerning the weather (apart from waiting to go on first solo). All the solo navigation exercises I had to do (out the zone, north trip and south trip) were canned so many times due to the weather it was unbelievable. However, I think it has been balanced out, in the relatively quick time I completed the QXC and for the fact that I completed the skill test first time without having to weather it off! I think all the bad luck with the weather will balance out in the end, so don't worry, when you qualify, I am sure you will be as ecstatic as I am now 
Last edited by mazzy1026; 11th Mar 2006 at 20:18.
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Thanks for that Mazzy.
I am reasonably laid back about it as I have been lucky with the weather overall to date.
The bonus is I spent the morning in a hangar on a private strip on friends farm just up the road.
In the hangar is a private collection of a P51 Mustang,a Harvard,an Auster,a Stearman and a modern Cessna .
The Cessna is used for business trips ,the rest for fun!
The P51 was having a service and a lot of the panels were off,I could stand underneath the engine with a lot of room above me,it's not until you are up close that you realise how large they were.It does aeros over here during the summer ,when it sounds and looks great.
Sadly,just a bit out of my price range!
Lister
I am reasonably laid back about it as I have been lucky with the weather overall to date.
The bonus is I spent the morning in a hangar on a private strip on friends farm just up the road.
In the hangar is a private collection of a P51 Mustang,a Harvard,an Auster,a Stearman and a modern Cessna .
The Cessna is used for business trips ,the rest for fun!
The P51 was having a service and a lot of the panels were off,I could stand underneath the engine with a lot of room above me,it's not until you are up close that you realise how large they were.It does aeros over here during the summer ,when it sounds and looks great.
Sadly,just a bit out of my price range!
Lister
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Did my 2nd accompanied cross country on Monday. I wasn't expecting to, given that we were going to visit Bournemouth and Blackbushe, both with east-west runways, TAFs showing the wind as 160/17G28, but my instructor thought we'd give it a go. As it turned out, it was quite a nice trip. Out of Wycombe, to Pangbourne (West of Reading), through the Boscombe MATZ - I can't believe how complicated it all becomes when you have to start talking to more people! As we got closer to Bournemouth, over the New Forest I was too busy enjoying the scenary and suddenly discovered my instructor was tapping the HI and asking me where on earth I was going. Very professional ATC at Bournemouth brought me in for my first landing away amongst commercial traffic. I did wonder whether the £47 was really justified for landing, a marshaller telling me where to park (I could have worked it out for myself) and 25 minutes parking. However, we were soon taxying back to the western end of the airport for an easterly departure. I was really pleased with my take off (with the cross-wind still blowing strong) but soon found myself having lost the heading again. I failed to read back the much more detailed clearance I received from the Boscombe MATZ controller (I hadn't expected such a detailed one) but then had no trouble navigating to Blackbushe and talking to Farnborough (MATZ). The nice thing was that my wife brought the kids to see me at Blackbushe (my local airpfield) so my little boy was able to see what daddy keeps disappearing off to do with his (not so spare) time. Much better landing fee at Blackbushe £10 buys a landing and advice on where to park over the radio from Blackbushe Information! A quick cup of much needed coffee followed. Finally, a short hop via the Woodley NDB back to Wycombe and landing on runway 17 which, in all the time I've been flying there, I have never used. The Wycombe controller tried to confuse us by giving us a straight in approach when we were well south west of runway 17, but we got that sorted. Enormous fun - can't wait to terrorise my friends doing this. Hoping to to my first solo cross country on Monday.
With hindsight, I was left with several questions. If we learn all the standard phraseology for the radio exams, why do we then get told it's too much in practice and use less standard sentences? And why do ATC give so many non-standard answers? Not criticising - just curious as to why the procedures are not updated to reflect accepted practice.
Happy flying all.
HH
With hindsight, I was left with several questions. If we learn all the standard phraseology for the radio exams, why do we then get told it's too much in practice and use less standard sentences? And why do ATC give so many non-standard answers? Not criticising - just curious as to why the procedures are not updated to reflect accepted practice.
Happy flying all.
HH
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Mazzy and others... you may recall last summer I got the opportunity to visit the A380 fabrication plant in Toulouse. Well, on my most recent visit I went one better. Apologies for posting this here, but this seems to be the most natural place for such a posting amongst my virtual friends and an inspiration for those wanting to move onto bigger aircraft after getting their PPLs ;-)
Well, the early bird etc.... I had to be up and out by 0730 local time in Toulouse (0630 UK time). My hosts had been asking favours from friends of friends and so this morning I got a personal tour of the A380 by Robert Lignee (one of the chief flight test engineers). While waiting for him to get his coat (-2C in Toulouse) I was also introduced to one of the test pilots who flew on the maiden flight.
Firstly was a tour of the outside, close ups of all the huge undercarriage assemblies and the absolutely massive wings. Although I've seen the A380 numerous times, and also been on board B747s is isn't until you are standing right underneath one of these machines that you appreciate the scale of the production.
Then through the secure controlled door at the foot of the boarding stairs and up to the first deck. A quick look into the cockpit - but it was very busy as the engineers were going through the pre-flight checks, and then an internal tour where I've never seen so much cabling, pipework, computer kit etc. Robert showed us his seat at the control and monitoring station - it looked like something from the control suite of a nuclear powerstation with multiple screens, keyboards, dials, switches. And the stuff they can do there with the computers during flight is quite impressive - much more than simple monitoring...
The interior is vast. Oh, and here is a hint for those who like to look out of the window on flights - don't ask for an overwing window seat on the lower deck during check in. All you will see is a mass of wing. And I mean a mass - it totally obscures any downward visibility but it is an awesome sight to see such a large wing.
Amongst all the cable and computing kit there are seats strategically placed along the deck. These are for the test engineers to sit in to monitor lateral and vertical movements to ensure that the flight will be pleasant for future passengers. Vibrations are automatically damped by computer controlled ailerons, and there are multiple independent ones on each wing. The roll / damping and counter-damping was explained to me but it was a bit beyond my engineering capability to understand it all.
Up the stairs at the rear of the cabin and onto the upper deck. Again - very wide and long. Much better views though, especially of the other A380 parked next to us. Down to the front where the cabin is kitted out with more seats. I must request that next time I'm around I can get on one of the test flights in one of these seats ;-)
Back down the front steps and a final cockpit check before disembarking. On the ground the Trent engine that had been looked at was now with its panels back on - and it began to spool up for a power test. Quite an impressive sound. I asked if a photo would be possible (they are not allowed). A sneaky camera phone shot might have been possible, but certainly not with a regular camera and definitely certainly not when there are engine tests underway. We finished off with a driving tour of the rest of the Airbus complex. Saw the first and last Air France Concordes, both sitting in prime positions, the other monster buildings for all the other A320, A330, A340 etc. fabrication and paint plants. It is a bizarre environment, probably only here and in Seattle where so many huge machines are made on such a large scale. There isn't anything to compare with it.
I was impressed by the passion and enthusiasm of everyone I met. And especially grateful that they could take time from their busy schedule to give me a tour before taking to the skies for yet more in-flight testing.
Mazzy - if / when we have the thread pub meet I'll be able to give a proper update. Back to the PA28 / DA40 at the weekend - they will look so small and simple after this visit!
Well, the early bird etc.... I had to be up and out by 0730 local time in Toulouse (0630 UK time). My hosts had been asking favours from friends of friends and so this morning I got a personal tour of the A380 by Robert Lignee (one of the chief flight test engineers). While waiting for him to get his coat (-2C in Toulouse) I was also introduced to one of the test pilots who flew on the maiden flight.
Firstly was a tour of the outside, close ups of all the huge undercarriage assemblies and the absolutely massive wings. Although I've seen the A380 numerous times, and also been on board B747s is isn't until you are standing right underneath one of these machines that you appreciate the scale of the production.
Then through the secure controlled door at the foot of the boarding stairs and up to the first deck. A quick look into the cockpit - but it was very busy as the engineers were going through the pre-flight checks, and then an internal tour where I've never seen so much cabling, pipework, computer kit etc. Robert showed us his seat at the control and monitoring station - it looked like something from the control suite of a nuclear powerstation with multiple screens, keyboards, dials, switches. And the stuff they can do there with the computers during flight is quite impressive - much more than simple monitoring...
The interior is vast. Oh, and here is a hint for those who like to look out of the window on flights - don't ask for an overwing window seat on the lower deck during check in. All you will see is a mass of wing. And I mean a mass - it totally obscures any downward visibility but it is an awesome sight to see such a large wing.
Amongst all the cable and computing kit there are seats strategically placed along the deck. These are for the test engineers to sit in to monitor lateral and vertical movements to ensure that the flight will be pleasant for future passengers. Vibrations are automatically damped by computer controlled ailerons, and there are multiple independent ones on each wing. The roll / damping and counter-damping was explained to me but it was a bit beyond my engineering capability to understand it all.
Up the stairs at the rear of the cabin and onto the upper deck. Again - very wide and long. Much better views though, especially of the other A380 parked next to us. Down to the front where the cabin is kitted out with more seats. I must request that next time I'm around I can get on one of the test flights in one of these seats ;-)
Back down the front steps and a final cockpit check before disembarking. On the ground the Trent engine that had been looked at was now with its panels back on - and it began to spool up for a power test. Quite an impressive sound. I asked if a photo would be possible (they are not allowed). A sneaky camera phone shot might have been possible, but certainly not with a regular camera and definitely certainly not when there are engine tests underway. We finished off with a driving tour of the rest of the Airbus complex. Saw the first and last Air France Concordes, both sitting in prime positions, the other monster buildings for all the other A320, A330, A340 etc. fabrication and paint plants. It is a bizarre environment, probably only here and in Seattle where so many huge machines are made on such a large scale. There isn't anything to compare with it.
I was impressed by the passion and enthusiasm of everyone I met. And especially grateful that they could take time from their busy schedule to give me a tour before taking to the skies for yet more in-flight testing.
Mazzy - if / when we have the thread pub meet I'll be able to give a proper update. Back to the PA28 / DA40 at the weekend - they will look so small and simple after this visit!
Spicy Meatball
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HH - £47 !! That is a bit steep! When you do your first solo cross country, you will start to appreciate the true value of what you are doing - especially when you land and take in what you have just accomplished. Then onto the QXC - an even bigger/better feeling! I got my receipt from the CAA the other day, informing me that they have received my £159! Can't moan about landing fee's really when you are paying that sum of money just to have your license issued. They must get paid a fortune in that place!
Data - that sounds brilliant. Takes me back to my cadet days when we used to get tours around various hangars at RAF stations. I will never forget RAF St Athan - one of the busiest bases in UK. We were guided round all the hangars and visited several different squadrons, seeing all the aircraft stripped down and being tested etc. Amazing.
Not had much regarding the pub gathering to be honest, may have to post it in the bashes forum (saying that, last time I did that, I failed miserably).
(And BRL - you still owe me that first solo beer)
Lee
Data - that sounds brilliant. Takes me back to my cadet days when we used to get tours around various hangars at RAF stations. I will never forget RAF St Athan - one of the busiest bases in UK. We were guided round all the hangars and visited several different squadrons, seeing all the aircraft stripped down and being tested etc. Amazing.
Not had much regarding the pub gathering to be honest, may have to post it in the bashes forum (saying that, last time I did that, I failed miserably).
(And BRL - you still owe me that first solo beer)
Lee
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Lee,
There are quite a few of us nearing the end of our tuition and hoping for our licence soon.
Maybe when we have them that would be a good time to meet up?
Don't want to pay a £47 landing fee though
Lister
There are quite a few of us nearing the end of our tuition and hoping for our licence soon.
Maybe when we have them that would be a good time to meet up?
Don't want to pay a £47 landing fee though
Lister
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Great flight today.
No Guys, not my QXC, still waiting for a hole in this lousy weather, 22 attempts canned so far!! (honestly!), though I'm too pretty laid back about it now.
I now belong to the Daventry Flying Circle (set up just before Xmas by a bunch of flying enthusiasts from the Daventry area) - it's great, we meet once a month for a meal, and usually have a guest speaker etc. The group is mixed with a couple of local Virgin captains - 747/A340 - and others flying all sorts from gliders to Dakotas, and many from GA. Anyway, one of the chaps phoned today to see if I would like to go flying in his virtually new Robin DR400 (he's also got an R44 and several vintage planes). Obviously I leaped at the chance. What a fab plane the Robin is - 11/10th inside and out, autopilot equipped and quick for a fixed u/c job at 135kts cruise.
We flew from his private strip near Banbury and went to Shobdon where a great bacon sarny and a cuppa was very welcome.
On the way back I flew it - it was very different from the normal Warrior, and flying with a stick, and from the right hand seat felt very odd indeed. I made a bit of a hash of the circuit back into the strip before I handed over, off centre line (stronger than anticipated wind on base), too high and too fast (it just wouldn't slow down, it's a very slippery aircraft), so he had to go around!!
Oh well, I guess I had plenty of excuses!! All in all a great day out.
Good luck all, and well done again Mazzy - hope I'm not too far behind yoy,
CF
I now belong to the Daventry Flying Circle (set up just before Xmas by a bunch of flying enthusiasts from the Daventry area) - it's great, we meet once a month for a meal, and usually have a guest speaker etc. The group is mixed with a couple of local Virgin captains - 747/A340 - and others flying all sorts from gliders to Dakotas, and many from GA. Anyway, one of the chaps phoned today to see if I would like to go flying in his virtually new Robin DR400 (he's also got an R44 and several vintage planes). Obviously I leaped at the chance. What a fab plane the Robin is - 11/10th inside and out, autopilot equipped and quick for a fixed u/c job at 135kts cruise.
We flew from his private strip near Banbury and went to Shobdon where a great bacon sarny and a cuppa was very welcome.
On the way back I flew it - it was very different from the normal Warrior, and flying with a stick, and from the right hand seat felt very odd indeed. I made a bit of a hash of the circuit back into the strip before I handed over, off centre line (stronger than anticipated wind on base), too high and too fast (it just wouldn't slow down, it's a very slippery aircraft), so he had to go around!!
Oh well, I guess I had plenty of excuses!! All in all a great day out.
Good luck all, and well done again Mazzy - hope I'm not too far behind yoy,
CF
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Hey! You've done it! Glad I had a quick look now! Many congrats to you Mazzy. I might be seeing you in the sky oop north in April if you're there?
Back to the revision...
Back to the revision...
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There are quite a few of us nearing the end of our tuition and hoping for our licence soon.
Maybe when we have them that would be a good time to meet up?
Maybe when we have them that would be a good time to meet up?