Lesson 35 (I guess, but its been a while)

Lesson: 35

04/XII/2012

• Lessons time: dual - 0.9h, solo - none


• Total time: 31.0h (1.1h solo)


• Location: EGAD


• Aircraft: G-UFCM (Tecnam 2002JF)

I know I said it a lot before. But this time, it really has been a while.
I got back to the club last week, to see what's changed, have lunch and book few lessons.

So Today was the first booking , as always -  I was bit worried about the weather, but as usual this time of year - its nippy but sky is usually clear.

I thought a bit, about what to expect. To be fair, I was rather open about this - and felt that I'll probably be overwhelmed by the experience. I was also hoping for the anticipation and excitement of the first few flights.

So the morning came,  I wok up to the sound of alarm clock tune (which btw, is my own composition ). It was bit late, but I managed to get everything done rather quickly, left the house and drove to the club. I forgot how bad the traffic is during a week at this time of day (8:45 ish). Previous lessons were always during weekends, mostly sundays (because I had very stiff old fashioned employer previously). Driving through Belfast and area on Sunday morning is a breeze. Now that I'm self employed, I can allow myself much more flexibility. I knew I'm going to be late, so I rang up the club - to give them heads up. Problem with the 9:00 slot, is that its very short (1h 15 min). (note to self, and anyone training at UFC:) I really need to show up at 8:30 for the next lesson.

I got there 15 mins late, knocked on CFI doors (Gavin is now CFI !) and we went straight to action. I like it, no fussing about.
Preflight and this is the first time I got to sit in the aircraft. All in all, this lesson can be summarised with one sentence: lots of new things. Preflight was my way of getting familiar with the new flying toy :-)

Walk around done, I squeezed myself inside. There's lot more shoulder room in this aircraft, altho not as much as there is in C172. I decided to go for the Tecnam, as its £30 less an hour then C172 and as fast. I'm certain I'll do check ride on C172 once I get the licence anyway.

First impressions, stick feels strange but oddly enough more intuitive then yoke. Low wing makes a lot of sense, visibility is just so much better then in C152. On that note, remember to have your sunglasses handy folks. Never mind the winter time and that the sun is low, better visibility means you can be blinded by the sun more easily.

The aircraft seems to be much lighter (I'm sure it is) then C152, also there is no mixture leaver. But there is carburettor heat. Go figure, so its not an injection engine, yet the mixture is controlled electronically. Seems odd. Also, whoever decided to make the throttle very responsive in 15% and then not much responsive over the rest of the leaver range - had to be Italian (or not care). Very annoying !

But we managed to get up, I even managed to do some RT. Altho, I decided not to try out patience of the Belfast Approach bloke. So Gavin did the initial call.

We then headed out over the peninsula , usual place for any exercises done at UFC.
It felt odd first, as always I was very careful with controls - but in the end it was quite easy. This aircraft needs aaaa llooot of rudder! And I mean, tons. But that's good. I'm guessing its shorter, and wings aren't as massive as the ones in C152. The Cessna didn't need virtually any rudder at all !. I seldom had to use it. So that's a plus, I'll get a chance learn how to use rudder finally and properly.

I did few heading and altitude changes, few speed changes, 15 and 30 deg turns. Of course, I managed to forget few things, like that its not power attitude trim when descending. But I'll get there.

Since this is a new aircraft to me and slot was short, .. and I was slightly late, preflight took longer, and there was less time to do the actual flight. On our way back, I got some more time to reflect on the whole aircraft and look around bit more. Over the pluses I mentioned already, I got to say that I don't like the electric trim and flaps. I did prefer trim wheel and flaps controller with multiple positions. Set and forget. Having to verify on a different instrument where your flaps are seems bit mad to me, as a design idea. For difference of £250 in materials, why ? why ?

As soon as we joined on base, things started to happen too fast for my liking. Also, it was very bumpy over the city So Gaving took over for the finals and landing. I'm sure I'll get my hear around this eventually. But as this is the first time in the aircraft it felt odd. I knew what to do, just couldn't do it smoothly enough to feel comfortable doing it and land the thing. You really need to be focused and familiar with the aircraft to land it. Like they say, "Flying is the second most exciting thing in the world, Landing is the first one".
I remember my first solo landings in C152, it was bit busy, but at the same time, there was enough time to go over instruments few times and then still plenty mental capability spared for other things. Also, Gavin prefers that the last (drag) stage of flaps be extended only when you're on short final, is in case the donkey quits. This makes a lot of sense, but squeezes the landing time a bit. So you need to be focused and know where stuff is.

The flare it self was up to me, and I have to say - I didn't have to do much. Apparently low wing aircraft are far easier to flare in. Certainly it felt like it just had landed it self.

Taxing back was a breeze and it felt like I could do bit more speed on taxi way (compared to C152).

Because the aircraft is lighter and different construction then C152, apparently its prone to wing down attitude, which - if you are not on top of the game, can lead to stall and eventually spin. It's not certified for even simple acrobatic manoeuvres, never mind spins (which were possible in C152) - so my next lesson or two are going to be about stalls, handling and such. Also I hope some circuits will be in order.

All in all, Gavin said I did nice, and he certainly feels like I could do my first solo on this aircraft in no time. Time will tell. I need to do my air law again beforehand, because it expired.

Next lesson booked for Friday. This time with Rodger, one of my favourite instructors of all time :-)
Altho I haven't flown with Gavin as much, he seems to be very good and relaxed too.

No GPS trace folks, as I had no time to turn my iPhone's gps tracker on. I'm sure you's will manage ;)

I wish tomorrow was Friday already (not because of work of course).

• Route: T/O RWY 22 left hand, straight and level, turns, radio work, bimble around peninsula 


• Milestones: It's been a while (really!), new aircraft


• Exercises covered: straight and level, turns, ascends and descents, etc


• Weather: Nice day, bit bumpy over the town on landing. Otherwise rather smooth air. 

xmas, new year, moving the blog (here!)

So folks,

Belated happy xmas wishes, and may the new year bring all the joy you need.

As for me, I’ve been in a flying-sleep mode for a while now, due to financial constrains, etc.

Advice of the day, if you are learning to fly, have about £500 buffered before you fly. Will make things easier 

I’m also moving my blog to http://yetanotherpplblog.blogspot.com/

Why? Because they are less pain in the butt then wordpress. Simple.

Yes they are owned by Google, and I’m not a fan of corporations, but still. Better deals 

Hopefully I’ll resume my flying training around March next year  So see you then.

See Ya !

Lesson: 34

18/IX/2011

• Lessons time: dual - 0.8h, solo - none


• Total time: 29.1h (1.1h solo)


• Location: EGAD


• Aircraft: G-BNKR (C152)

If you thought I'm gone for good - think again.

With holidays over, I decided to give the "new" club a visit. With the new CFI, a lot of positive change took place. For instance: late Thursdays. So, as you can imagine - I decided to stop by one Thursday after work to see how it looks like. Boy I was for a surprise. To skip through the boring stuff, in the end - I decided to book a lesson with a instructor that I've seen since the start of my aviation journey, but never flew with. Ray sticks in your memory. And he is a very nice guy. After Today I can also honestly say that he is one good instructor.

So anyway, got there earlier - just in case no one recognised my face. Went for tea with few instructors beforehand, just to listen to the latest rumours.

After that I went on to check the good old Bonker. Still the same old beast. Someone told me that it looks quite old and scary inside, but I kind of like it. There are some new aircraft coming to the club soon, in the same price range - so I guess I'll have a chance to fly something brand new - and compare the experience. For the time being, bonker is fine. It takes all the hammering studes put it through without a whine.

Anyway, flying. Of course, it was given that no one will send me solo on first day after 4 months, and with the cross wind.

So I did the first circuit. Ray started to ask me some very sensible questions. One - on the down-wind (which I called cross wind by mistake, what a monkey) - do you think - if the donkey quit - you'd be able to glide back to the runway. Of course not, I was miles away. Very good point.

So next circuits were more sort of elliptical in shape.

Ray was very happy about me doing the level off every 500 ft on climb-out (i.e. before the turn into crosswind). I would also start a turn at around 800 ft downwind. Made sense, and it meant that I could indeed at least reach the dry land - should the rubber band break.

The wind started to pick up closer to the ground, and I have failed to compensate using enough rudder. So the next touch and go was kind of scary. But I handled it.

So for the next one, Ray decided to show me what to do with rudder. I guess it was one of those things that goes away after a while. Something to remember, that even tho flying sticks in memory like riding a bicycle, there are some things you wouldn't do as good once you are out of practice.

So for the next challenge, mr Ray decided to cover the ASI and 'the ball' with chart. I was forced to look outside, and only use my attitude and judgement to set the speed. I was scared at first, and amazed later at how well I did. I was off by 5-10 kts, but always over the speed, not under. Which is of course important. Well, at least seems safer - given that we have tarmac runways, that are long enough for small biz jet. If it was grass short strip it would have been a different ball.

So that was a bit of fun and challenge. Ray said, that if the cross wind didn't get so bad - he would have let me have one solo circuit. So I guess, overall - I wasn't so bad.

I was also amazed how easy the radio has become.

At the end, the complementary gps track. No height tho - because go-flying went absent on all of us, and I have no where to convert the GPX tracks so that I would get the height coloured track. Oh well.

• Route: T/O RWY 04 right hand circuits, maaasive cross winds, wind-shears, and of course 1 go around .


• Milestones: It's been a while.


• Exercises covered: circuits.


• Weather: quite a gust, cross wind. Typical nice day :)

(short) Lesson 33

Lesson: 33

02/V/2011

• Lessons time: dual - 0.5h, solo - zeeero


• Total time: 28.3h (1.1h solo)


• Location: EGAD


• Aircraft: G-BNKR (C152)


• Instructor: David P

Lesson booked for 9, but I decided to be earlier this time. And what happens ? I had to search for my instructor, cos he wasn't there. Obviously I would need to be earlier few times more for anyone to notice :) When David finally showed up (was talking to another instructor) - his diagnosis was pretty clear. You want to get solo hours, forget about Today. Crosswind is quite strong, and despite the fact that there's quite a few runways at EGAD, none of them suit the wind. Oh joy. So I just said - give me half an hour, better then nothing.

Once I got to the aircraft, I realised that I didn't pack my checklists. Usually my GF takes care of that, but she was over at mom's house for a while. No bother (with belfast accent !), someone in the club always has one. I managed to speak to some other student pre-flying (flighting?) 172. Social interaction between students, rare thing.

Anyway, off we went. David showed me what to do in case I really forget the checklist, how to cope. Basic idea is to go through every knob and lever. Of course, not really a good idea to fly without the checklist. Some people won't be able to tell us about it.

The wind was quite strong. So strong, that I had to extend downwind a bit, and go through landing configuration quite swiftly. Of course I didn't do it quite well the first time around, so the usual procedure was carried out - go around.

I had quite fun landing in cross wind. Never before in my short life as rookie-wannabe-pilot had I to aim at the runway through the door window. But there's always the first one.

All in all, very enjoyable. I learned massive amount of little things about crosswind handling. Of course not the best set of circuits ever, but nonetheless I think David wasn't disappointed with my performance.

To keep him happy, I asked him to take few pics of myself flying. A, my family never seen me doing this, and B - 28h under belt, and no pic in the cockpit. Shouldn't happen ;)

Please forgive my massive double neck. I should have had my fleece zipper undone. I look more chubbier then usual. Otherwise, enjoy ;)

[gallery link="file" columns="1"]

• Route: T/O RWY04 circuits, maaasive cross winds, wind-shears, and of course 1 go around .


• Milestones: back in the saddle.


• Exercises covered: circuits.


• Weather: quite a gust, otherwise beautiful day.

RT practical passed

RT practical exam passed.

Some of the calls I did actually rather poorly, but still managed to get enough right to pass.
The examiner have said, that he heard me doing much better during earlier sessions.


Now only if I had enough cash to fly this month :/

Lessons 31 and 32. More circuits

Lesson: 31 and 32

02,03/IV/2011

• Lessons time: dual - 1.7h (0.9, 0.8) solo - 0.0.


• Total time: 27.9h (1.1h solo)


• Location: EGAD


• Aircraft: G-BNKR (C152)

(And) Yet another two lessons in circuit.

Booked two lessons for the weekend. Both with Gavin. Its been a bit since I last flew with him.

Basically circuits were in order. He assured me that if I do well and gods of weather are cooperating I will be sent solo. To save you the time, I wasn't sent solo.

On Saturday my flying was terrible, to say the least. We did few circuits, and attempted to do few glide approaches, but there was always someone in the way (ie , in front of us, or one occasion

backtracking the active when I was about to land. Had to go around. ) . As always I blamed the winds, but as always I'm to blame. Devil's in the details, and I seem to notice a lot of those little things. Probably too many to handle.

On Saturday we seemed to have quite a thermal over the city (on finals). Which blew me up. Trying to correct it was a nightmare. Gavin wanted to see me going around once or twice, and also pulled the power on the climb out once to see what would I do. I think in general he was satisfied with my reaction to that.

One thing that set him aside (and makes few other instructors rather unhappy), is the fact that he likes to apply some safety measures that others don't seem to approve of. Namely, on climb out, level out at 500 ft, to check the blind spot - just a push and pull on the yoke really. Reasons being, that the circuit is a climb, and as in any climb you would do 500 ft checks, you need to do them in the circuit as well. Other relatively novel thing, which others don't teach - is to only set the 'drag' flap (30 deg in the G-BNKR) whilst being on very close final. This is due to the fact that you don't want that drag when over the city, in case your engine quits.

Now, I knew he likes that sort of circuit before, but never asked him about the reasons - thus I couldn't argue with other instructors about it. To be honest, I was very angry (mainly due to my poor performance) on Saturday, and started to wonder whether it is due to the instructor. But had a nice debrief with Gavin, where I basically lied down all my frustrations and observations, and he was very good at explaining reasons behind his way of things, and also promised me to talk to other instructors about it.

Sunday flying was much better, but meanwhile I had quite few expenses and instead of flying 4-5 lessons this month the Sunday one is probably going to be my last one (this month at least). We were promised a bonus at work, but it kind of didn't happened (yet). If it will, I'll most certainly spend it on the flying. Ever since I started this, I have no savings, and my finances are shattered. Doesn't help also that my gf is out of work. But anyway, enough ranting -  back to flying.

Sunday was way much better. Weather wasn't still good enough for me to go solo ( strong winds, as they do happen at this time of the year ) - but at least my circuits were much better. Unfortunately due to my own stupidity (dead battery in gps) - I have no gps track for Sunday. Basically I did few picture perfect circuits, apart from the approach. This time, there was no thermal over the city, so I was ending up too low. Started too add too much power, ended up too high, then turned it into the speed, etc, etc. But I started to get a feel of that too. Gavin wanted me to go around twice, and also we did this time two glide approaches. First one was dead on, on the second one he started to tell me about setting up the speed first - which blew me too far out, and I would in reality end up somewhere in bushes before the runway. Luckily the engine was running fine.

One nice thing about this weekend, my RT was dead on - apparently. This obviously isn't a miracle. I invested in an RT course. It pays off to do it. There's a guy next door (in the aero-heli) who's doing it, and he is brilliant. Not only very patient with my - frankly annoying - personality. But also very capable. It looks like I'm going to be able to pass my practical RT this month too.

That's indeed a boost for me, especially since its been a while since I've been solo. This is mostly due to the weather not being on my side. I feel like more I fly with instructor on board worse I get. I probably need to do few solo circuits to boost my confidence in flying, and move over to my Nav exercises. I'll most likely take about a month break (or perhaps even two) to repair my finances, in the mean time - doing the RT and perhaps the Nav theory too.



Saturday's GPS track:

• Route: T/O RWY22 circuits, cross winds, wind-shears, and of course go arounds .


• Milestones: hmm, none.


• Exercises covered: circuits.


• Weather: quite a gust, bit cloudy but clearing up.

Lesson 30 - never tired of the circuit bashing

Lesson: 30

25/III/2011

• Lesson time: dual - 1.6h (in 0.8h instalments), solo - 0.0.


• Total time: 26.2h (1.1h solo)


• Location: EGAD


• Aircraft: G-BNKR (C152)

Yet another circuit bashing lesson.

Not much to write about really (for change this won't be a long elaborate).

I booked two slots on the day. Morning 9:00 one, and 13:30 one in the afternoon.

Circuits, as usual - pretty much. In the morning the wind was rather calm, so circuits were rather uneventful. Rodger very patiently talked me through things I'm still doing wrong (and there's still a lot :/) which is pretty much setting up the aircraft on the base leg to be ready for finals. I tried my best to follow the instructions, but I believe the wind was spoiling my fun a lot.

One thing apparent about the rwy 34 is that you fly around the Scrabo hill and your finals are over the water and sea wall. The wind seems do be doing all sorts of weird things and conspire against the aircraft setup. So it was quite a laborious flying. To my amazement, I managed to retract flaps after applying full power once. Very bad mistake. Rodger obviously noted that, and said that if he is to send me solo, it will be in the afternoon - because of that mistake.

The afternoon lesson was to be much different. The wind was much violent, and we had a crosswind. Which would be fine, but it was alternating between left or right of the runway. This meant that I had to go around few times and it was quite unpleasant to fly in conditions like that on whole extent of the circuit. For instance the final approach leg required quite a bit of power and initially I would end up low because I didn't want to add too much too fast.

Speaking of go arounds. I was very confident in doing them, and Rodger said the same thing. I still have to be more patient about retracting flaps - but I am not trying to do them all at once - which should mean that I'll live a bit longer :) One go around was due to the fact that I ended up too fast, and wasn't still firmly on the ground before runway intersection. On second occasion wind changed direction as I was trying to flare. One wheel touched the ground, whilst the other was still up. And I think third one was due to me being generally too high.

In the beginning of part two I said to Rodger that there's no way that I would want to fly this on my own. His response was that this weren't conditions he would send even the best student (like myself) solo. I couldn't laugh, I was grateful that I didn't had to try in these conditions. Probably felt grateful I don't have to go solo for the first time in my life.

All in all, it was a great experience. I certainly had to sweat much more to keep the thing running. On top of that there was a lot of traffic. At some stage Rodger said that it feels like Heathrow. Seriously, I think I didn't make my downwind and finals calls for 3-4 circuits, because there was that much radio chatter.



As usual, here are the mandatory gps tracks:

[caption id="attachment_253" align="aligncenter" width="700" caption="morning flying"][/caption]

On Monday I'm starting the RT course. There's a guy doing RT courses in the club, and I think its worth spending some time (and money) on that.

Still need to do my Nav exam too.

Next flying next weekend, and then I'll probably take a month break to repair my finances.

• Route: T/O RWY34 circuits, cross winds, wind-shears, and of course go arounds .


• Milestones: rwy 34 circuits in wind that changes a lot.


• Exercises covered: circuits.


• Weather: quite a gust, bit cloudy but clearing up.