First Solo Announcement!!!!!!
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Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: formerly Sarf Lunden, now in Minne*snow*ta
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First Solo Announcement!!!!!!
Well it finally happened on Friday May 3rd!!!
The day started off quite normally with me waking up at 0830, pulling open the curtains and looking out to a nice clear blue sky. After a quick shower and coffee, several clouds had already started to form, but luckily they were still quite high up.
A quick phone call to the school confirmed that even though it's starting to cloud over, all should be fine for my lesson that afternoon. So I got my bag together, and caught the train down to Rochester. I got there quite early so sat around and waited till my instructor was free to start my lesson.
After a couple of checks with the tower to make sure there were no thunderstorm warnings (as there had been the previous day) I did the walk-round and everything was ready to go.
It started to get busy, so ATC told me to do my power checks where I was parked and I kicked the brakes off at 1440. It took me a little while for me to get my bearings so I did a go-around on my first approach. After a couple of approaches and slightly bumpy landings, I was then told to do a couple of flapless approaches. On the climbout from the first flapless landing, I heard my instructor radio to ATC and inform them that we were going to do an EFATO and then he turned to me and said "This isn't your lucky day, your engine has just stopped, what are you going to do"?. This was my second EFATO and I automatically pointed the plane towards the fields just to my left, put down a couple of stages of flaps and trimmed her nicely to 65 knots. Then as I was turning base, the instructor told me he was going to do the radio call for finals and then said "ok I want a nice smooth landing this time" to which I replied "You mean as opposed to the first 3 bumpy landings"?
I turned onto finals and my instructor called through with "G-OWOW on finals for touch & go or landing". And I made it down with a nice smooth landing. The instructor then took the controls and started taxiing back and told me now is the time I get to do my solo.
As I sat waiting for about 10 minutes for clearance from ATC to go off on my solo the wind had veered round so they then switched runways from 34 to 02. My instructor then came out after seeing the plane that had just landed having some problems tackling the crosswind. He then got back in the plane and then said that he'll come up again with me and see how I manage with a couple of circuits on 02.
Usually I hate using that runway, but my first landing was very smooth and I think I impressed myself on that one, the second landing was a bit scrappy and I got told by my instructor "I liked your style on that landing, but when you do your solo I don't want to see you nosediving just to get the plane down"
We taxiied back again and then he jumped out and left me to it. I turned the plane around and after a couple of minutes queueing I was cleared for take-off. She went up really quickly without the weight of my instructor beside me. I turned smoothly onto crosswind, and then onto downwind. Made my downwind call and checks. All the time I kept glancing at the empty seat beside me and saying to myself "Wow I'm flying this thing on my own"
I turned onto base, pulled out the carb heat, slowed her down to 1500 rpm, lowered to stages of flaps, turned her round onto finals, called through on the radio, and smoothly glided down. I got blown a little off the centre line, but corrected myself fairly early on. And then came the call from the tower "G-OWOW Congratulations"!!! I couldn't stop grinning at that point and could manage was "G-OW, thank you"
I still haven't stopped grinning
Yes it is true the plane's registration was G-OWOW and you can bet I did go WOW! when I landed
The day started off quite normally with me waking up at 0830, pulling open the curtains and looking out to a nice clear blue sky. After a quick shower and coffee, several clouds had already started to form, but luckily they were still quite high up.
A quick phone call to the school confirmed that even though it's starting to cloud over, all should be fine for my lesson that afternoon. So I got my bag together, and caught the train down to Rochester. I got there quite early so sat around and waited till my instructor was free to start my lesson.
After a couple of checks with the tower to make sure there were no thunderstorm warnings (as there had been the previous day) I did the walk-round and everything was ready to go.
It started to get busy, so ATC told me to do my power checks where I was parked and I kicked the brakes off at 1440. It took me a little while for me to get my bearings so I did a go-around on my first approach. After a couple of approaches and slightly bumpy landings, I was then told to do a couple of flapless approaches. On the climbout from the first flapless landing, I heard my instructor radio to ATC and inform them that we were going to do an EFATO and then he turned to me and said "This isn't your lucky day, your engine has just stopped, what are you going to do"?. This was my second EFATO and I automatically pointed the plane towards the fields just to my left, put down a couple of stages of flaps and trimmed her nicely to 65 knots. Then as I was turning base, the instructor told me he was going to do the radio call for finals and then said "ok I want a nice smooth landing this time" to which I replied "You mean as opposed to the first 3 bumpy landings"?
I turned onto finals and my instructor called through with "G-OWOW on finals for touch & go or landing". And I made it down with a nice smooth landing. The instructor then took the controls and started taxiing back and told me now is the time I get to do my solo.
As I sat waiting for about 10 minutes for clearance from ATC to go off on my solo the wind had veered round so they then switched runways from 34 to 02. My instructor then came out after seeing the plane that had just landed having some problems tackling the crosswind. He then got back in the plane and then said that he'll come up again with me and see how I manage with a couple of circuits on 02.
Usually I hate using that runway, but my first landing was very smooth and I think I impressed myself on that one, the second landing was a bit scrappy and I got told by my instructor "I liked your style on that landing, but when you do your solo I don't want to see you nosediving just to get the plane down"
We taxiied back again and then he jumped out and left me to it. I turned the plane around and after a couple of minutes queueing I was cleared for take-off. She went up really quickly without the weight of my instructor beside me. I turned smoothly onto crosswind, and then onto downwind. Made my downwind call and checks. All the time I kept glancing at the empty seat beside me and saying to myself "Wow I'm flying this thing on my own"
I turned onto base, pulled out the carb heat, slowed her down to 1500 rpm, lowered to stages of flaps, turned her round onto finals, called through on the radio, and smoothly glided down. I got blown a little off the centre line, but corrected myself fairly early on. And then came the call from the tower "G-OWOW Congratulations"!!! I couldn't stop grinning at that point and could manage was "G-OW, thank you"
I still haven't stopped grinning
Yes it is true the plane's registration was G-OWOW and you can bet I did go WOW! when I landed
Last edited by djk; 8th May 2002 at 05:04.
Join Date: Dec 2001
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Grin ought to last a bit longer yet...
Quite a few hours clocked actually - I put myself on a kind of 'accelerated programme' recently. Was actually going to do 1st land away solo today, but weather was slightly dodgy when the time came. I'm now pretty confident in the circuit and have the basics of navigation. And significantly poorer!
People said 1st solo is the best, but I'm not so sure actually. There's always a new achievement to look towards.
Quite a few hours clocked actually - I put myself on a kind of 'accelerated programme' recently. Was actually going to do 1st land away solo today, but weather was slightly dodgy when the time came. I'm now pretty confident in the circuit and have the basics of navigation. And significantly poorer!
People said 1st solo is the best, but I'm not so sure actually. There's always a new achievement to look towards.
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Nice one mate! Well done for dealing with the change of runway too - not sure I'd have managed to cope with that when I soloed 
Like Penguina, I've started to speed things up - two hours a week (plus a week off work to fly every day at some point ) until I'm done. I want to finish and enjoy it while it's still summer....
Like Penguina, I've started to speed things up - two hours a week (plus a week off work to fly every day at some point
) until I'm done. I want to finish and enjoy it while it's still summer....
but still loving every second!
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I just want to thank everyone who has congratulated me on this. It's been one hell of a past 16 months with lots of canceled lessons in between and waiting for the weather to be just right for the instructor to be totally sure that I'd be able to cope on my own.
I have to say I totally agree with Trev Thom's write-up on Ex 14, it really is a great compliment when your instructor gets out of the plane and says "ok, you're on your own now"
I'm most certainly looking forward to my nav exercises and also my first solo landaway and I can well believe that there are more and greater highlights further down the line.
Helen, I have to say I've been on a cross=channel flight with a mate of mine who let me take the controls for a fair portion of the flight. which actually was the time I caught the flying bug. 23rd September 2000 Rochester -> Le Touquet.in a PA28
I can say that was great fun and thoroughly enjoyable, but as it's 4 days after my solo and I still have the grin on my face, been threatened with violence at work if I take out my logbook one more time and people walk away from me now if I utter the words "... have I told you yet about my first solo"? I have to say this is far far better
SteveR, this is all your fault
I have to say I totally agree with Trev Thom's write-up on Ex 14, it really is a great compliment when your instructor gets out of the plane and says "ok, you're on your own now"
I'm most certainly looking forward to my nav exercises and also my first solo landaway and I can well believe that there are more and greater highlights further down the line.
Helen, I have to say I've been on a cross=channel flight with a mate of mine who let me take the controls for a fair portion of the flight. which actually was the time I caught the flying bug. 23rd September 2000 Rochester -> Le Touquet.in a PA28
I can say that was great fun and thoroughly enjoyable, but as it's 4 days after my solo and I still have the grin on my face, been threatened with violence at work if I take out my logbook one more time
and people walk away from me now if I utter the words "... have I told you yet about my first solo"? I have to say this is far far better SteveR, this is all your fault
Last edited by djk; 7th May 2002 at 19:40.
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Guilty as charged (and well done that man).
The evidence (plug plug) is at:
http://www.e-logbooks.co.uk/pilots/l...loysius&page=1
(for the purists, and logging pedants like me, Derek had to log 'P2' because e-logbooks doesn't yet have a tidy way to log passenger hours)
Steve R
The evidence (plug plug) is at:
http://www.e-logbooks.co.uk/pilots/l...loysius&page=1
(for the purists, and logging pedants like me, Derek had to log 'P2' because e-logbooks doesn't yet have a tidy way to log passenger hours)
Steve R
