The most protracted PPL ever?........
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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!!!!
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
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!!!!
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
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Gulp!!
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?" 
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?
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?
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Well, I deleted yesterday's indulgent, self-pitying post 
, 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. 
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............
, 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. 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............
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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
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
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
FP.
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
FP.
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Gargleblaster wrote
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
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 !
If kevmusic wants to learn to fly, even despite his wife's illness, I wish him the best !
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
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Another Ex18
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!
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!
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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!
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!
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Update
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!
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!
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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.........
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.........
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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!
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!
nice one Kev
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What a time for a long break in your training!
Roll on the next couple of weeks! 
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!
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!!!
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........
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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!
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.............
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!
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.............
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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.
All ther best.
Nick.
Last edited by nickyjsmith; 8th Nov 2009 at 20:46. Reason: engineers spelling!