Had a feeling that I should ring the club before going out to my lesson today, to find out I had written down the wrong time... BUGGER!! It was actually booked for later in the day, but will be at work by then.
With almost 2 weeks out of the saddle, I'll be losing my touch...
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
Flight to Tauranga
Last Saturday I was lucky enough to be offered a flight by another blogger (and club member), destination Tauranga. This would be be my first flight to another airport in a light plane, as a passenger, and in the Arrow.
We met in the clubhouse around 10am and a bit after that we took off. We climbed up off 36, and headed for Tauranga. En route Chris and Euan pointed out Matamata airfield, I was told they had a longer grass strip than Hamilton which was interesting. It was a smooth flight until we reached the Kaimai ranges where we had a small period of turbulence which bumped us round a bit, but that was all good.
Descending into Tauranga was awesome, you fly straight over the port, which was great compared to the Hamilton approach over farmland. Had a nice approach down onto the tarmac before taxiing over to the airport museum for shutdown. We then had a quick look through the museum before heading back to the aircraft.
Departing from Tauranga it was easy to pick out a few noticable landmarks, such as Baypark Stadium, and I think the Bayfair Shopping Centre?? Relatively straight forward flight home, located Matamata again, and then joined the circuit for 36 for a nice touchdown.
I snapped a number of pics but nothing flash so I cant really be bothered resizing them...
Thanks to Chris for taking me, was an awesome experience. Cant wait to be able to do it myself...
We met in the clubhouse around 10am and a bit after that we took off. We climbed up off 36, and headed for Tauranga. En route Chris and Euan pointed out Matamata airfield, I was told they had a longer grass strip than Hamilton which was interesting. It was a smooth flight until we reached the Kaimai ranges where we had a small period of turbulence which bumped us round a bit, but that was all good.
Descending into Tauranga was awesome, you fly straight over the port, which was great compared to the Hamilton approach over farmland. Had a nice approach down onto the tarmac before taxiing over to the airport museum for shutdown. We then had a quick look through the museum before heading back to the aircraft.
Departing from Tauranga it was easy to pick out a few noticable landmarks, such as Baypark Stadium, and I think the Bayfair Shopping Centre?? Relatively straight forward flight home, located Matamata again, and then joined the circuit for 36 for a nice touchdown.
I snapped a number of pics but nothing flash so I cant really be bothered resizing them...
Thanks to Chris for taking me, was an awesome experience. Cant wait to be able to do it myself...
Friday, December 14, 2007
Bugger...
Drove out to the aero club yesterday to find out the Alpha I was spose to be flying in had a maintenance issue. The instructor told me it had a burning smell, and for obvious reasons grounded it for it to be checked out by an engineer. They said if I wait round for an hour or so they might have it up and running again, but unfortunately that didn't eventuate.
So that was a bugger but nothing can be done about it, it will however be interesting to see what the problem was during my next lesson on Thursday, or possibly when I'm out at the club tommorrow.
So that was a bugger but nothing can be done about it, it will however be interesting to see what the problem was during my next lesson on Thursday, or possibly when I'm out at the club tommorrow.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Lesson Nineteen: Circuits
Hmm. That was interesting to say the least. What a scorcher of a day. I definitely agree with the comment made by another club blogger on the Alphas canopy. Because it has a canopy rather than a roof it is pretty much like a glasshouse in there, and this theory was put to practice. A few bit of sweat was dripping off my face after that, noticed the clipboard had sweat marks on it from my hands, that shows how hot we were.
This lesson we were told to taxi to 'Golf' holding point, so after asking my instructor where the heck that was off we went. RWY 07 is grass and relatively short, a little over 700m. We were told to make the first circuit a right hand one, which is a bit of a pain because you then have the instructor blocking your view to the right, but thats just another thing you have to get around. I seem to have a bit of trouble keeping sight of these runways as they are a bit hard to see sometimes. We ran out of time because I didn't quite antipate the short amound of time we would have to do the checks and call downwind.
Nevertheless we were soon on shortfinals with a slight crosswind to make it interesting. We were coming in a bit crooked for our liking so I applied full power and went round.
The second time I had a better approach but I need to speed up those downwind checks. We came in too high and we drifted down the runway. We touch and goed and went up for the final circuit.
This, like usual, is always the best circuit because it normally takes a while to get 'your eye in'. Approach was a bit better, this time I think I braked more smoothly which was good, then taxied back to the club for shutdown. In a few lessons it sounds like I will move onto the emergency procegures, but we'll see how we go. No point on moving on until you've got the hang of the circuit, I guess.
Next lesson Thursday.
This lesson we were told to taxi to 'Golf' holding point, so after asking my instructor where the heck that was off we went. RWY 07 is grass and relatively short, a little over 700m. We were told to make the first circuit a right hand one, which is a bit of a pain because you then have the instructor blocking your view to the right, but thats just another thing you have to get around. I seem to have a bit of trouble keeping sight of these runways as they are a bit hard to see sometimes. We ran out of time because I didn't quite antipate the short amound of time we would have to do the checks and call downwind.
Nevertheless we were soon on shortfinals with a slight crosswind to make it interesting. We were coming in a bit crooked for our liking so I applied full power and went round.
The second time I had a better approach but I need to speed up those downwind checks. We came in too high and we drifted down the runway. We touch and goed and went up for the final circuit.
This, like usual, is always the best circuit because it normally takes a while to get 'your eye in'. Approach was a bit better, this time I think I braked more smoothly which was good, then taxied back to the club for shutdown. In a few lessons it sounds like I will move onto the emergency procegures, but we'll see how we go. No point on moving on until you've got the hang of the circuit, I guess.
Next lesson Thursday.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Lesson Eighteen: Circuits
Well I feel that was much better than last time. I had a different instructor today, and was showen a way of doing your checks which is just to work from top to bottom. This seems to make more sense but I think keeping the checks by the book will make it easier for me to remember (therefore I can study at home).
This lesson we did 2 go arounds, which was better than last time anyway. The reason for these was because I was too high on finals and I didn't lose enough height quickly. I am still finding it a bit hard to judge the approach because in my opnion the runway looks different from the approach picture in the training manual.
My third circuit was a bit confusing as we had to turn very quickly onto base leg after takeoff as there was an ATR about to depart on the parallel runway. I had a much better landing even though it was a little hard and a bit off the centerline.
Fourth circuit was better again, I mainained circuit height better and my approach was a heck of a lot better. We landed on the tarmac with a bit of a thud and taxied back to the club. Had to fuel up, too.
After shutdown we had a quick de-briefing in the aircraft, the instructor said I am good at following instuctions (yay) and just need to 'think ahead' a little more as it starts to get a bit busy. Also need to start losing height a bit quicker on finals as I tend to end up too high, but I guess it just takes pracice. Instructor also asked if I have done the emergency briefing (EFATO's, forced landings, etc) so I must be making progress if she were to say that.
Next lesson booked for Saturday, although weather isn't looking to good. Fingers crossed.
This lesson we did 2 go arounds, which was better than last time anyway. The reason for these was because I was too high on finals and I didn't lose enough height quickly. I am still finding it a bit hard to judge the approach because in my opnion the runway looks different from the approach picture in the training manual.
My third circuit was a bit confusing as we had to turn very quickly onto base leg after takeoff as there was an ATR about to depart on the parallel runway. I had a much better landing even though it was a little hard and a bit off the centerline.
Fourth circuit was better again, I mainained circuit height better and my approach was a heck of a lot better. We landed on the tarmac with a bit of a thud and taxied back to the club. Had to fuel up, too.
After shutdown we had a quick de-briefing in the aircraft, the instructor said I am good at following instuctions (yay) and just need to 'think ahead' a little more as it starts to get a bit busy. Also need to start losing height a bit quicker on finals as I tend to end up too high, but I guess it just takes pracice. Instructor also asked if I have done the emergency briefing (EFATO's, forced landings, etc) so I must be making progress if she were to say that.
Next lesson booked for Saturday, although weather isn't looking to good. Fingers crossed.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Lesson Seventeen: Circuits
Well what a shocker that was. I was quitely confident that my checks were going well, but once again they fell apart under pressure. I will have to address that before next lesson on Tuesday.
Flight time was 0.9 hours, which was a bit annoying because we spent a heck of a long time on the ground waiting for a gap on the tower frequency. We sat there for a good 5 or 10 minutes without being able to get a word in, never seen in that busy before. Eventually we gave up and the instructor said we should just taxi over to the holding point E1. So we did that and then established contact there.
Finally we got a word in and we were cleared for takeoff on grass 25L. First circuit was a bit rough but that was to be expected, approach was terrible and we were forced to go around. Also a first was the crosswind on the approach, which was interesting to say the least. The aircraft is going straight ahead but the nose is pointed off to the side, so that felt a bit weird.
Circuit 2 was just as bad, once again we were forced to go around because we were to high.
Circuit 3 was another go around...
Circuit 4 was much better, I remembered my checks and I had plently of time to do them unlike before. Landing was pretty good, right on the stall warning. Funny that, always get something right when the flights just about to land.
Well that lesson was a BIG learning curve for me, 3 go arounds in a row was slightly embarrising (but best to be on the safe side, though), and forgetting many of my checks.
Lesson on Tuesday will be interesting, hopefully everything will go much smoother.
Flight time was 0.9 hours, which was a bit annoying because we spent a heck of a long time on the ground waiting for a gap on the tower frequency. We sat there for a good 5 or 10 minutes without being able to get a word in, never seen in that busy before. Eventually we gave up and the instructor said we should just taxi over to the holding point E1. So we did that and then established contact there.
Finally we got a word in and we were cleared for takeoff on grass 25L. First circuit was a bit rough but that was to be expected, approach was terrible and we were forced to go around. Also a first was the crosswind on the approach, which was interesting to say the least. The aircraft is going straight ahead but the nose is pointed off to the side, so that felt a bit weird.
Circuit 2 was just as bad, once again we were forced to go around because we were to high.
Circuit 3 was another go around...
Circuit 4 was much better, I remembered my checks and I had plently of time to do them unlike before. Landing was pretty good, right on the stall warning. Funny that, always get something right when the flights just about to land.
Well that lesson was a BIG learning curve for me, 3 go arounds in a row was slightly embarrising (but best to be on the safe side, though), and forgetting many of my checks.
Lesson on Tuesday will be interesting, hopefully everything will go much smoother.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Lesson Sixteen: Circuits
A day of mixed results to be honest. I had been going over my checks quite a bit between this and the last lesson, but I had a complete blank, so obiously I didn't know them enough.
First 2 cicuits were pretty shocking, alot of height was lost during my turns, gained when downwind, and I need to pick better reference points. My turns onto finals were a bit slow so we had to make one quite steep to make it straight in.
Last two circuits were quite good, I didn't lose as much height and my approach was much better. I am also judging my flare properly, which is good. Unfortunately I have exams coming up in a couple of weeks so I wont be flying until they're over, next lesson is booked in 2 weeks time for more circuits.
I have been reading other bloggers archives and they think it is important to set goals in aviation to ensure that you are always going somewhere. Obviously my initial one is going solo, which should be achieveable within 8 (ish) lessons, but its hard to tell. Once exams are over I will be able to have 2 0r 3 flights a week, so my hours will get up quite quickly. After solo I will be heading towards my longer term goal of gaining a PPL. I have also considered an aerobatics rating, however alot of dual instruction is necessary, and more of a goal for the next 3 or 4 years.
When will I finish my PPL? Sometime next year I hope, possible halfway through, it just depends on finances. I spose a 172 rating will be needed shortly after to allow me to fly more than one passenger, and I guess also an Archer rating would be a natural progression after that.
Better start saving, I think.
Flying time: 0.7 hrs
Total flying time: 11.25 hrs
First 2 cicuits were pretty shocking, alot of height was lost during my turns, gained when downwind, and I need to pick better reference points. My turns onto finals were a bit slow so we had to make one quite steep to make it straight in.
Last two circuits were quite good, I didn't lose as much height and my approach was much better. I am also judging my flare properly, which is good. Unfortunately I have exams coming up in a couple of weeks so I wont be flying until they're over, next lesson is booked in 2 weeks time for more circuits.
I have been reading other bloggers archives and they think it is important to set goals in aviation to ensure that you are always going somewhere. Obviously my initial one is going solo, which should be achieveable within 8 (ish) lessons, but its hard to tell. Once exams are over I will be able to have 2 0r 3 flights a week, so my hours will get up quite quickly. After solo I will be heading towards my longer term goal of gaining a PPL. I have also considered an aerobatics rating, however alot of dual instruction is necessary, and more of a goal for the next 3 or 4 years.
When will I finish my PPL? Sometime next year I hope, possible halfway through, it just depends on finances. I spose a 172 rating will be needed shortly after to allow me to fly more than one passenger, and I guess also an Archer rating would be a natural progression after that.
Better start saving, I think.
Flying time: 0.7 hrs
Total flying time: 11.25 hrs
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Lesson Fourteen: Circuits
Well back into the circuit again today, for the first time in the Alphas. This was always going to be an interesting lessons as the controls are much more responsive then the 152's. I guess the increased power makes for alot more airflow over the wings, hence the increased responsiveness.
Because of homework and my part time job, I lack motivation to learn my checklists, which is a bit lazy on my part. I had gone over my circuit procegures quickly, so I roughly knew the heights of when we should turnin the circuit, raise/lower our flaps and switch the landing lights. Unfortunately I hadn't learnt much of my general checks so I had to get my instructor to go through them with me. I'm a bit confused with all the digital readouts in the Alphas, with all the switches and things you have to toggle to get the required readouts etc. Good things take time, though.
I cant really recall this lesson, as I didn't write a report after it but I'm guessing it was a fairly average lesson. Flying in the circuit really does require you to know your checks well, so until I learn them properly, progress will be slow.
Flying time: 0.65 hrs
Total flying time: 10.55 hrs
Because of homework and my part time job, I lack motivation to learn my checklists, which is a bit lazy on my part. I had gone over my circuit procegures quickly, so I roughly knew the heights of when we should turnin the circuit, raise/lower our flaps and switch the landing lights. Unfortunately I hadn't learnt much of my general checks so I had to get my instructor to go through them with me. I'm a bit confused with all the digital readouts in the Alphas, with all the switches and things you have to toggle to get the required readouts etc. Good things take time, though.
I cant really recall this lesson, as I didn't write a report after it but I'm guessing it was a fairly average lesson. Flying in the circuit really does require you to know your checks well, so until I learn them properly, progress will be slow.
Flying time: 0.65 hrs
Total flying time: 10.55 hrs
Lesson Thirteen: Revision (upper air)
Due to spending so much time away from training, an instructor thought it would be a good idea for me to do a revison lesson to go over the basic maneuveres - turns, climbs, descents, and stalls.
The instructor asked me what I wanted to do, and thought we had better start with the basics, medium turns. These were pretty average, as I had wasn't keeping the nose up enough, and therefore we were losing quite a bit of height. Second time round was almost as bad, but third was much better. We then did a couple of right hand turns, as we had just been doing left hand ones before.
We finished off by doing some basic stalls, these wern't the best, as for the first couple I recovered at the stall warning by mistake. Third time round was better, although I still was getting a bit mixed up with raising the nose, etc. Might go over those again before going solo as I'm not fully confident with them yet.
We then returned for landing, I cant quite remember what the approach was like, but I am still having a bit of trouble judging the flare height. I was reading through my training manual afterwards and it recommended to look straight ahead and to the side a little, will try that next time. A full hours flight time in the log book, and some well needed revision.
Flight time: 1.0 hrs
Total flying time: 9.9 hrs
The instructor asked me what I wanted to do, and thought we had better start with the basics, medium turns. These were pretty average, as I had wasn't keeping the nose up enough, and therefore we were losing quite a bit of height. Second time round was almost as bad, but third was much better. We then did a couple of right hand turns, as we had just been doing left hand ones before.
We finished off by doing some basic stalls, these wern't the best, as for the first couple I recovered at the stall warning by mistake. Third time round was better, although I still was getting a bit mixed up with raising the nose, etc. Might go over those again before going solo as I'm not fully confident with them yet.
We then returned for landing, I cant quite remember what the approach was like, but I am still having a bit of trouble judging the flare height. I was reading through my training manual afterwards and it recommended to look straight ahead and to the side a little, will try that next time. A full hours flight time in the log book, and some well needed revision.
Flight time: 1.0 hrs
Total flying time: 9.9 hrs
Aerobatic Trial Flight
Well after a 15 month period of no flying, I've decided to finally get back into it. Money is in the bank, and its there to burn, so I'm keen to get back in the seat. Being the school holidays I was moping round home as usual, so booked in for an aerobatic trial flight.
A few days later, I was strapping myself into one of new Alpha 160 aerobatic trainers. Most people seem to have a 'pet hate' when doing things, and mine happens to be harnesses. Luckily for me, the Alphas have 5 point harnesses, which will take a bit of geting use to.
Anyway, I told the instructor about my previous flight experience and said I could do most of the flying, which was cool. Anyway, soon we were at full power down the runway. With an exta 50 (ish) HP than the 152's I was used to, it was certainly a exciting experience. I flew us out and was told I flew OK for someone who hasn't flown for so long.
The instructor then took over the controls to do the aerobatic manouvers. They were similar to the ones I did back in the 'Basic Stalls' lesson, but just as awsome. We started off with a couple of rolls, which is always a good intro because of the low g-forces. I think we then did a spin, in which the plane nose dives and the plane spins around. Increases the heart rate, thats for sure. We then finished off with a loop or two. Before heading home, I got to do a roll myself, which wasnt too bad, before flying us back to Hamilton to shutdown.
Overall a great flight.
Flying time: 0.7 hrs
Total flying time: 8.9 hrs
A few days later, I was strapping myself into one of new Alpha 160 aerobatic trainers. Most people seem to have a 'pet hate' when doing things, and mine happens to be harnesses. Luckily for me, the Alphas have 5 point harnesses, which will take a bit of geting use to.
Anyway, I told the instructor about my previous flight experience and said I could do most of the flying, which was cool. Anyway, soon we were at full power down the runway. With an exta 50 (ish) HP than the 152's I was used to, it was certainly a exciting experience. I flew us out and was told I flew OK for someone who hasn't flown for so long.
The instructor then took over the controls to do the aerobatic manouvers. They were similar to the ones I did back in the 'Basic Stalls' lesson, but just as awsome. We started off with a couple of rolls, which is always a good intro because of the low g-forces. I think we then did a spin, in which the plane nose dives and the plane spins around. Increases the heart rate, thats for sure. We then finished off with a loop or two. Before heading home, I got to do a roll myself, which wasnt too bad, before flying us back to Hamilton to shutdown.
Overall a great flight.
Flying time: 0.7 hrs
Total flying time: 8.9 hrs
Lesson Twelve: Circuits (2)
Unfortunately this was to be my last lesson for around 15 months, basically due to the fact that I was sick and tired of using my very small part time wage entirely for flying. I still wanted to fly, but being the middle of winter, constant weather cancellations make learning to fly a bit frustrating. However, I will do a basic write up of my last lesson for a while.
It wasn't the greatest of lessons, I kept making little mistakes like underestimating the turn onto finals, and flaring too fast so we floated down the runway. Apart from that, the other parts of the circuit wern't too bad, I just need to keep practicing.
It wasn't the greatest of lessons, I kept making little mistakes like underestimating the turn onto finals, and flaring too fast so we floated down the runway. Apart from that, the other parts of the circuit wern't too bad, I just need to keep practicing.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Lesson Eleven: Circuits (1)
Finished lesson number 11 a couple of hours ago, on quite a cold and miserable Autumn day, which was Circuits No. 1. Unfortunately the drizzling rain made visibility quite difficult, bringing it down to just 20km. We were operating on the grass, which is fine on sunny days but when its rainy and wet the runway becomes a bit more difficult to see and judge.
Unlike previous lessons, circuits only require one briefing, which took place during my last one, Circuit Introduction, so we simply flew, which was a nice change.
I began the pre flight however I was soon rudely interrupted half way through by a sudden downpour, luckily the aircraft provides a considerable amount of shelter in the form of wings and the cabin. Aircraft passed my inspection and we hopped into the aircraft and taxied out for departure.
Take off for Circuit No. 1 wasn't too bad, although I was a bit slow rotating and it took a while for us to get into the air. My instructor manned ATC for the first circuit while I concentrated on flying, and we were soon downwind for the grass. I'm still shocking at turning out onto my reference points, but I improved as the lesson went on. Rolling out of the turn onto finals was slightly underestimated. My landing was pretty average, I didn't quite pull back quick enough when flaring the aircraft on touchdown. We were doing a touch and go so we applied full power after raising the flaps from full 30 to 10 degrees, and applied some right rudder to keep us pointing straight on the runway.
Circuit number 2 was a right hand one. Once on short finals the instructor gave me the controls again, this time I flared better and landed on the main gear. Once again full power was applied and we took off for circuit Number 3. This time the instructor said that I would fly the circuit by myself with as little imput as possible and didn't do to badly apart from forgetting the carb heat and raising the nose when reducing power back to 1600 RPM. My approach was looking prettt good, until I lost it and noticed we wern't coming down quick enough, so I took the the initiative of completing a go around as a safe option, which is good for practice anyway.
Lesson number 4 definitely wasn't the best of the day, as we had to considerably lengthen our upwind leg to avoid a large cloud that drifted our way. We were soon back on short finals for the grass, this time it was quite a good approach and I was very pleased with it. Unfortunately that marked the end of the lesson, which was one of my most enjoyable yet, thats for sure.
Flying time: 0.8 hrs
Total flying time: 7.4 hrs
Unlike previous lessons, circuits only require one briefing, which took place during my last one, Circuit Introduction, so we simply flew, which was a nice change.
I began the pre flight however I was soon rudely interrupted half way through by a sudden downpour, luckily the aircraft provides a considerable amount of shelter in the form of wings and the cabin. Aircraft passed my inspection and we hopped into the aircraft and taxied out for departure.
Take off for Circuit No. 1 wasn't too bad, although I was a bit slow rotating and it took a while for us to get into the air. My instructor manned ATC for the first circuit while I concentrated on flying, and we were soon downwind for the grass. I'm still shocking at turning out onto my reference points, but I improved as the lesson went on. Rolling out of the turn onto finals was slightly underestimated. My landing was pretty average, I didn't quite pull back quick enough when flaring the aircraft on touchdown. We were doing a touch and go so we applied full power after raising the flaps from full 30 to 10 degrees, and applied some right rudder to keep us pointing straight on the runway.
Circuit number 2 was a right hand one. Once on short finals the instructor gave me the controls again, this time I flared better and landed on the main gear. Once again full power was applied and we took off for circuit Number 3. This time the instructor said that I would fly the circuit by myself with as little imput as possible and didn't do to badly apart from forgetting the carb heat and raising the nose when reducing power back to 1600 RPM. My approach was looking prettt good, until I lost it and noticed we wern't coming down quick enough, so I took the the initiative of completing a go around as a safe option, which is good for practice anyway.
Lesson number 4 definitely wasn't the best of the day, as we had to considerably lengthen our upwind leg to avoid a large cloud that drifted our way. We were soon back on short finals for the grass, this time it was quite a good approach and I was very pleased with it. Unfortunately that marked the end of the lesson, which was one of my most enjoyable yet, thats for sure.
Flying time: 0.8 hrs
Total flying time: 7.4 hrs
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Lesson Ten: Circuit Introduction
Oh dear. Looking at the diagram of a circuit it looks resonably straight forward, but in practice it really isnt. Anything but, in fact.
The pre-flight briefing was quite long, as there was about 8 pages of theory in my training manual, but it was quite interesting all the same. This time I did most of the radio calls, which is a big learning experience in itself.
Finally we took off, and I rotated off the runway and lauched the aircraft into the air. The instructor flew the first circuit to demonstrate, and that was lucky due to the mayhem that occurred. As soon as we turned downwind ATC requested us to make a right hand orbit, due to traffic. Once we turned onto finals, the instructor gave me the controls so I could have a go at the landing, which didn't turn out to bad. Instead of doing a touch and go we were to backtrack along the runway and takeoff again, as a touch and go is fairly high demanding on a learner pilot. The annoying thing about backtracking is you have to turn round on the runway 180 degrees, and taxi all the way back to the threshold which took quite a long time. Generally you would use the taxiways to do this, so that was a bit weird.
Now that we were back at the threshold I finally got to take the controls for the entire circuit, and my first attempt at the circuit wasn't too bad, although I kept turning past my point of reference that I was turning onto when changing from downwind to base legs etc. During the circuit we were forced to change another runway, which annoyed me a bit.
Turning onto finals we noticed that there were two aircraft sitting on the RWY threshold not looking like they were going anywhere, one sitting behind the other, so we were told to 'go around'. My approach wasn't exactly spectacular, and it didn't look like much of a straight landing but funnily enough we touched down bang on the centre line (must have been a fluke). I then brought the flaps back up to the take off setting of 10 degrees, and applied full power for the take off. I still have a slight problem of judging the climb out attitude, but should correct itself with the 3 or 4 touch and goes we will be doing each lesson in the near future.
Unless my memory has failed me I dont think anything out of the ordinary occured that circuit, and we touched back down on the runway for a full stop landing before taxiing back.
Overall a very intense lesson, the circuit doesn't look very high demanding, but trust me on this one, it is. Not much of time to enjoy the scenery, but still alot of fun.
Next lesson will be Circuits 2, and we'll probably get through about 3 or 4 circuits depending on how busy the airport is, lets hope not as busy as this lesson!
The pre-flight briefing was quite long, as there was about 8 pages of theory in my training manual, but it was quite interesting all the same. This time I did most of the radio calls, which is a big learning experience in itself.
Finally we took off, and I rotated off the runway and lauched the aircraft into the air. The instructor flew the first circuit to demonstrate, and that was lucky due to the mayhem that occurred. As soon as we turned downwind ATC requested us to make a right hand orbit, due to traffic. Once we turned onto finals, the instructor gave me the controls so I could have a go at the landing, which didn't turn out to bad. Instead of doing a touch and go we were to backtrack along the runway and takeoff again, as a touch and go is fairly high demanding on a learner pilot. The annoying thing about backtracking is you have to turn round on the runway 180 degrees, and taxi all the way back to the threshold which took quite a long time. Generally you would use the taxiways to do this, so that was a bit weird.
Now that we were back at the threshold I finally got to take the controls for the entire circuit, and my first attempt at the circuit wasn't too bad, although I kept turning past my point of reference that I was turning onto when changing from downwind to base legs etc. During the circuit we were forced to change another runway, which annoyed me a bit.
Turning onto finals we noticed that there were two aircraft sitting on the RWY threshold not looking like they were going anywhere, one sitting behind the other, so we were told to 'go around'. My approach wasn't exactly spectacular, and it didn't look like much of a straight landing but funnily enough we touched down bang on the centre line (must have been a fluke). I then brought the flaps back up to the take off setting of 10 degrees, and applied full power for the take off. I still have a slight problem of judging the climb out attitude, but should correct itself with the 3 or 4 touch and goes we will be doing each lesson in the near future.
Unless my memory has failed me I dont think anything out of the ordinary occured that circuit, and we touched back down on the runway for a full stop landing before taxiing back.
Overall a very intense lesson, the circuit doesn't look very high demanding, but trust me on this one, it is. Not much of time to enjoy the scenery, but still alot of fun.
Next lesson will be Circuits 2, and we'll probably get through about 3 or 4 circuits depending on how busy the airport is, lets hope not as busy as this lesson!
Lesson Nine: Power and Flap stalls
My ninth flying lesson, was power and flap stalls.
This time I got to make the majority of the radio calls, including the second call of the day which includes quite a lot of information such as where you are heading, the ATIS version, and your QNH amongst a number of other things. Before I knew it we were thundering down the runway which didn’t quite turn out as well as I’d liked with the rotate being slightly slow. Air traffic for the region was reasonably busy.
Once established we climbed and levelled off at 2500 ft until we reached the area in which we would do our stalls. First of all we went over the basic stall from the last lesson, and once the instructor and myself were happy with it we moved onto the power stall. Unlike the basic stall, we use 1500 RPM instead of full idle (about 600 RPM), meaning the nose attitude of the aircraft is higher than that of the basic stall. It also means that the entry to the stall takes longer as the aircraft must slow down considerably. The good thing about stalls is that once you get the hang of it initially, stalls after that become reasonably straight forward and rewarding to do. On my last powered stall of the day the left hand wing stalled before the right one, causing the aircraft to rapidly bank steeply to the left which gave us a bit of a fright. Unfortunately I can’t remember why this occurred.
Following power stalls, we progressed onto the flap stall. This time 20 degrees of flap is selected, with the power being set at full idle. Because the flaps are generating a considerable of additional lift, the nose high attitude has no need to be has high, therefore we stall the aircraft at a nose up attitude only slightly above the horizon. These all went fairly well, so we moved onto the last exercise of the day, the power and flap stall. Once again the same recovery technique was used, of control column forward, full throttle and a little right rudder to prevent yaw. Once the instructor and I were happy with the 3 types of stalls we headed back to the airport, where we joined in a right base.
Next lesson will be intro to circuits.
This time I got to make the majority of the radio calls, including the second call of the day which includes quite a lot of information such as where you are heading, the ATIS version, and your QNH amongst a number of other things. Before I knew it we were thundering down the runway which didn’t quite turn out as well as I’d liked with the rotate being slightly slow. Air traffic for the region was reasonably busy.
Once established we climbed and levelled off at 2500 ft until we reached the area in which we would do our stalls. First of all we went over the basic stall from the last lesson, and once the instructor and myself were happy with it we moved onto the power stall. Unlike the basic stall, we use 1500 RPM instead of full idle (about 600 RPM), meaning the nose attitude of the aircraft is higher than that of the basic stall. It also means that the entry to the stall takes longer as the aircraft must slow down considerably. The good thing about stalls is that once you get the hang of it initially, stalls after that become reasonably straight forward and rewarding to do. On my last powered stall of the day the left hand wing stalled before the right one, causing the aircraft to rapidly bank steeply to the left which gave us a bit of a fright. Unfortunately I can’t remember why this occurred.
Following power stalls, we progressed onto the flap stall. This time 20 degrees of flap is selected, with the power being set at full idle. Because the flaps are generating a considerable of additional lift, the nose high attitude has no need to be has high, therefore we stall the aircraft at a nose up attitude only slightly above the horizon. These all went fairly well, so we moved onto the last exercise of the day, the power and flap stall. Once again the same recovery technique was used, of control column forward, full throttle and a little right rudder to prevent yaw. Once the instructor and I were happy with the 3 types of stalls we headed back to the airport, where we joined in a right base.
Next lesson will be intro to circuits.
Lesson Eight: Basic Stalls (and aerobatics!)
Well, definitely an interesting lesson this one, and a big learning curve at that. Here is the lesson objective:
As per usual I went out by myself and completed the pre-flight inspection, and everything looked up to scratch. This time my takeoff was better as I kept us straighter once we became airborne.
The instructor than gave me a few demonstrations of the stall before I had a go at it myself. The first few times I was a little apprehensive so I didn't recover quite as fast as I would have liked, but I began to get the hang of it after a while. I kept forgetting to turn the Carb heat off when we passed through 60 knots, but that wasn't too much of an issue once I got the hang of it. My last stall of the day was the best, but Murphys law made its presence known by telling us we would have to return to the airport or we would go over our 1 hour limit in case someone else needed the aircraft. So we headed back to the airport Meanwhile, I was asked if I wanted to do some aerobatics so I said 'may as well!' and away we went.
First of all we did a couple of rolls, which was awesome fun, and I think we also did two or three stall turns after that, followed by a loop which was the best of the lot, as we stayed flying upside down for a couple of seconds before finishing off the loop. G-forces made it a little interesting too. The forces rather try to pull your mouth down, which would be amusing to watch in a video.
Following the aerobatics, we headed back to the airport for landing. Once we joined the circuit (or pattern if you want to call it that) we had to complete a right hand orbit. I then had a go at the landing, this time I stuffed up by over flaring instead of under like the last landing and we ended up doing a bit of a 'floater' down the runway Oh well, practice makes perfect.
Overall an awesome lesson, with getting the hang of stall recoverys and the aerobatics the highlight of the lesson. Next up is power and flap stalls.
As per usual I went out by myself and completed the pre-flight inspection, and everything looked up to scratch. This time my takeoff was better as I kept us straighter once we became airborne.
The instructor than gave me a few demonstrations of the stall before I had a go at it myself. The first few times I was a little apprehensive so I didn't recover quite as fast as I would have liked, but I began to get the hang of it after a while. I kept forgetting to turn the Carb heat off when we passed through 60 knots, but that wasn't too much of an issue once I got the hang of it. My last stall of the day was the best, but Murphys law made its presence known by telling us we would have to return to the airport or we would go over our 1 hour limit in case someone else needed the aircraft. So we headed back to the airport Meanwhile, I was asked if I wanted to do some aerobatics so I said 'may as well!' and away we went.
First of all we did a couple of rolls, which was awesome fun, and I think we also did two or three stall turns after that, followed by a loop which was the best of the lot, as we stayed flying upside down for a couple of seconds before finishing off the loop. G-forces made it a little interesting too. The forces rather try to pull your mouth down, which would be amusing to watch in a video.
Following the aerobatics, we headed back to the airport for landing. Once we joined the circuit (or pattern if you want to call it that) we had to complete a right hand orbit. I then had a go at the landing, this time I stuffed up by over flaring instead of under like the last landing and we ended up doing a bit of a 'floater' down the runway Oh well, practice makes perfect.
Overall an awesome lesson, with getting the hang of stall recoverys and the aerobatics the highlight of the lesson. Next up is power and flap stalls.
Lesson Seven: Climbing and Descending turns
My seventh lesson, Climbing and Descending turns. This lesson turned out to be the best so far, as we ended up turning it into more of a scenic city flight mixed in with some steep turns but hey, I'm not complaining!
Following the briefing I went out and did the pre-flight inspection with everything looking in good condition (even full tanks of gas)! As usual I got to taxi the aircraft out to the holding point and complete the engine run up, before lining up. The instructor said that I was going to both take off and land this lesson which I was looking forward too, and we decided to fly over the city rather than the countryside for a change of scenery.
After being cleared for take off I advanced the throttle to full power but didn't quite use enough right rudder to keep the aircraft on the centre line, but all too soon we were at rotate speed so I pulled back on the yoke and launched us into the air. Once we were at cruise altitude we levelled off and the instructor showed me a climbing turn, which I followed.
Once the excitement of some steep turns were over with, we headed back to the airport for my first complete landing, which I would have my first go at. The instructor manned the throttle, while I had the yoke and pedals to play round with. I had a go at rolling out of the turn onto finals while I didn't anticipate very well, so I had to head left for a bit to get back on track. Once we were heading straight for the runway I lined up properly for the approach. The instructor then told me when to fly level with the runway which I did without difficulty, but when it was time for landing I didn't quite pull back quick enough on the yoke and didn't quite flare enough Oh well, better luck next time.
Well next lesson is Stalls which will be interesting.
Following the briefing I went out and did the pre-flight inspection with everything looking in good condition (even full tanks of gas)! As usual I got to taxi the aircraft out to the holding point and complete the engine run up, before lining up. The instructor said that I was going to both take off and land this lesson which I was looking forward too, and we decided to fly over the city rather than the countryside for a change of scenery.
After being cleared for take off I advanced the throttle to full power but didn't quite use enough right rudder to keep the aircraft on the centre line, but all too soon we were at rotate speed so I pulled back on the yoke and launched us into the air. Once we were at cruise altitude we levelled off and the instructor showed me a climbing turn, which I followed.
Once the excitement of some steep turns were over with, we headed back to the airport for my first complete landing, which I would have my first go at. The instructor manned the throttle, while I had the yoke and pedals to play round with. I had a go at rolling out of the turn onto finals while I didn't anticipate very well, so I had to head left for a bit to get back on track. Once we were heading straight for the runway I lined up properly for the approach. The instructor then told me when to fly level with the runway which I did without difficulty, but when it was time for landing I didn't quite pull back quick enough on the yoke and didn't quite flare enough Oh well, better luck next time.
Well next lesson is Stalls which will be interesting.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Lesson Six: Medium Turns
Unusually the aircraft had full tanks so there was no need to fuel up following the pre-flight inspection, so we took off and headed out to our area. This time the instructor did the take off but I got fly us up to cruise altitude after the wheels left the ground. Once we were clear of Hamilton's control zone we picked out an easy to find landmark, which happened to be Mt Pirongia, sticking some 3000 ft into the sky as our reference point.
Judging the turn can be harder than it looks when you cant stare continuously at the instuments (unlike flight sim), thankfully there are some bolts on the engine cowling which you can line up with the horizon to keep roughly a correct angle of bank. The aircraft needed quite a bit more backpressure on the yoke then I first anticpated, but after a few 360 degree turns I finally began to get the hang of it.
Following the left hand turns, we moved onto right turns which are even harder because the bolts that you would use to line up a left turn now droop below the horizon, as the pilot is sitting up higher due to the bank angle. This was a pain but like the left turns I got used to it after a while, before we finished off the lesson with a left and then right turn before heading back to the airport for landing.
Upon landing we hit a pothole or something in the grass, the instructor said that part of the runway needs flatenning out better. We taxied back to the clubhouse for shutdown and the instructor got me to write down the time we flew on the Hobbs meter. Next lesson will be climbing and descending turns.
Judging the turn can be harder than it looks when you cant stare continuously at the instuments (unlike flight sim), thankfully there are some bolts on the engine cowling which you can line up with the horizon to keep roughly a correct angle of bank. The aircraft needed quite a bit more backpressure on the yoke then I first anticpated, but after a few 360 degree turns I finally began to get the hang of it.
Following the left hand turns, we moved onto right turns which are even harder because the bolts that you would use to line up a left turn now droop below the horizon, as the pilot is sitting up higher due to the bank angle. This was a pain but like the left turns I got used to it after a while, before we finished off the lesson with a left and then right turn before heading back to the airport for landing.
Upon landing we hit a pothole or something in the grass, the instructor said that part of the runway needs flatenning out better. We taxied back to the clubhouse for shutdown and the instructor got me to write down the time we flew on the Hobbs meter. Next lesson will be climbing and descending turns.
Lesson Five: Descending
This was to be my fifth flying lesson, descending. In the briefing we covered things such as the effects of wind directions on the descent, gliding, and effects on the engine that descending has, such as spark plug fouling at low RPM.
On our engine run up we suffered a minor problem with our right magneto which was very rough running, but that problem was soon corrected by increasing power to 2000 RPM and we leaned out the fuel mixture for half a minute or so, which magically cleared the engine. I was the only person with my feet on the brakes so I made sure my feet didn't slip off them because we would soon be accelerating down the taxiway (cruise power during flight is just 300 RPM more)!
This lesson the instructor let me take off by myself which was awesome, I just need to pull back on the yoke a bit faster, other then that it was pretty good. (better than pulling back too fast, I guess).
Soon we were in the air and we headed out to the area to practice descending. Like the other lessons the instructor showed me how to do a descent, and then I had a go at it, using the P.A.T. mneumonic yet again, and we practiced both glide and cruise descents for the rest of the lesson. There isn't really a lot you can talk about climbing and descending, as it's pretty self explanatory.
Highlight would definitely being able to take off by myself for the first time, that was quite a feeling.
On our engine run up we suffered a minor problem with our right magneto which was very rough running, but that problem was soon corrected by increasing power to 2000 RPM and we leaned out the fuel mixture for half a minute or so, which magically cleared the engine. I was the only person with my feet on the brakes so I made sure my feet didn't slip off them because we would soon be accelerating down the taxiway (cruise power during flight is just 300 RPM more)!
This lesson the instructor let me take off by myself which was awesome, I just need to pull back on the yoke a bit faster, other then that it was pretty good. (better than pulling back too fast, I guess).
Soon we were in the air and we headed out to the area to practice descending. Like the other lessons the instructor showed me how to do a descent, and then I had a go at it, using the P.A.T. mneumonic yet again, and we practiced both glide and cruise descents for the rest of the lesson. There isn't really a lot you can talk about climbing and descending, as it's pretty self explanatory.
Highlight would definitely being able to take off by myself for the first time, that was quite a feeling.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Lesson Four: Climbing (2nd February 2006)
From now on I'll try and concentrate more on the flying part of the lesson than the theory part, but lets start with the theory and get it over and done with. First of all the instructor taught me about the factors affecting the climb, which are climb performance, power, weight, altitude, and flap, with some only making minor changes, others making quite large changes.
We taxied out to the runway for departure to the area for climbing practice. Once we were established in the climb out of airport, the instructor gave me the controls and I climbed us up. I was then demonstrated a perfect climb to about 2000 ft and then I had a go, using the P.A.T. mnemonic from the previous lesson and climbed up to higher. We then completed a few more climbs, at the same time the instructor was pointing out how to maintain the climb, such as using ailerons, rudder, and the elevators, as well as your scan, e.g. lookout (outside) followed by attitude, and then checking your instruments.
Once you have completed the climb, you return to straight and level flight by using the following mnemonic, A.P.T. Basically that means lowering the nose with elevator to your desired attitude, then reducing power back down to 2300 RPM, and finally trimming the aircraft to relieve any undesired control pressures that may be present. Last but not least we went over the effect of flap. So that brings to the end of my 4th lesson - climbing.
We taxied out to the runway for departure to the area for climbing practice. Once we were established in the climb out of airport, the instructor gave me the controls and I climbed us up. I was then demonstrated a perfect climb to about 2000 ft and then I had a go, using the P.A.T. mnemonic from the previous lesson and climbed up to higher. We then completed a few more climbs, at the same time the instructor was pointing out how to maintain the climb, such as using ailerons, rudder, and the elevators, as well as your scan, e.g. lookout (outside) followed by attitude, and then checking your instruments.
Once you have completed the climb, you return to straight and level flight by using the following mnemonic, A.P.T. Basically that means lowering the nose with elevator to your desired attitude, then reducing power back down to 2300 RPM, and finally trimming the aircraft to relieve any undesired control pressures that may be present. Last but not least we went over the effect of flap. So that brings to the end of my 4th lesson - climbing.
Straight and Level (9th January 2006)
Lesson number three was Straight and Level, turned out to be a relatively simple and straight forward lesson, which helps when you're just starting out!
We started off with the forces acting on an aircraft in flight, which are lift, thrust, weight, and drag. When all four forces are equal, the plane is said to be in equilibriam (or straight and level). The instructor quickly went over the tailplane, which is used to balance out any residual pitching movements that may take place. Following that part of the theory, I learnt about straight and level at different airspeeds.
Once we got to cruise altitude in the area, I learnt how to attain straight and level from the climb, and there is a useful mnemonic 'APT' which stands for attitude power and trim, so you carry out those tasks in that order. Generally attitude and power can be carries out in relatively short sucession, however trim has to be done a little later on once the planes attitude and airspeed has settled down. My next exercise was maintaining straight and level flight, which is obviously simple except when a large gust of wind came and kicked the tail out to the side, meaning you would have to correct it. Following that was attaining straight and level from the descent, which used the same 'APT' mneumonic of attitude, power, and trim. Last of all was regaining altitude, so if you want a small altitude change , no extra power is required as you just put in more elevator, while larger changes require more or less thottle.
We started off with the forces acting on an aircraft in flight, which are lift, thrust, weight, and drag. When all four forces are equal, the plane is said to be in equilibriam (or straight and level). The instructor quickly went over the tailplane, which is used to balance out any residual pitching movements that may take place. Following that part of the theory, I learnt about straight and level at different airspeeds.
Once we got to cruise altitude in the area, I learnt how to attain straight and level from the climb, and there is a useful mnemonic 'APT' which stands for attitude power and trim, so you carry out those tasks in that order. Generally attitude and power can be carries out in relatively short sucession, however trim has to be done a little later on once the planes attitude and airspeed has settled down. My next exercise was maintaining straight and level flight, which is obviously simple except when a large gust of wind came and kicked the tail out to the side, meaning you would have to correct it. Following that was attaining straight and level from the descent, which used the same 'APT' mneumonic of attitude, power, and trim. Last of all was regaining altitude, so if you want a small altitude change , no extra power is required as you just put in more elevator, while larger changes require more or less thottle.
Effects of Controls 2 (30 Dec 2005)
First of all we summed up what I learnt in the previous lesson, and checked if I had any questions, which I didn't. Following the conclusion of that, we went through the effects of power changes, e.g. with reduced power the nose yaws to the right and the plane pitches down, while with increased power the plane yaws to the left and the nose pitches up. As the prop is only rotating in one direction, it causes yaw to one side - simple enough!
Following that part we moved onto the anicillary controls, which happens to be the flaps and trim, which were simple to understand as well. Which brings me to the best part of a lesson, the flying itself. I had a fiddle round with the throttle to notice how the plane reacts to power changes, which was quite a bit more than I thought it would be. Next part of the lesson was the flaps, in which I had to slow the plane down into the white flap area part of the speed indicator, so the flaps could be deployed. Lowering flap raises the nose of the aircraft, while retracting does the opposite and lowers the nose. Once that was over with the instructor taught me how to trim the aircraft, it's a great feeling when both you and the instructor can take your hands off the controls and the plane virtually flies itself, much easier then holding the yoke back or forward all the time!
Well that sums up yet another flying lesson.
Following that part we moved onto the anicillary controls, which happens to be the flaps and trim, which were simple to understand as well. Which brings me to the best part of a lesson, the flying itself. I had a fiddle round with the throttle to notice how the plane reacts to power changes, which was quite a bit more than I thought it would be. Next part of the lesson was the flaps, in which I had to slow the plane down into the white flap area part of the speed indicator, so the flaps could be deployed. Lowering flap raises the nose of the aircraft, while retracting does the opposite and lowers the nose. Once that was over with the instructor taught me how to trim the aircraft, it's a great feeling when both you and the instructor can take your hands off the controls and the plane virtually flies itself, much easier then holding the yoke back or forward all the time!
Well that sums up yet another flying lesson.
Lesson One: Effects of Controls (29 Dec 05)
The instructor started by talking me through the theory part of the lesson. It was pretty straight forward, we were pretty much just learning what the controls of the plane do such as the ailerons, rudder, elevator, how lift keeps the plane in the air, the basic controls of the cockpit, and the 'Im Safe' checklist. Once that half was over with, we moved onto the a couple of main effects: airspeed, and slipstream, which would make up the basis of the lesson.
We then climbed into the aircraft with the instructor giving me a lesson on how to belt yourself into the harness, before getting me to write down the aircraft flight time and checking all the airworthness certificates, flight manuals, axe, fire extinguisher, etc were on board. We then started the aircraft up and I got to taxi the aircraft out the runway for takeoff, and soon we were full throttle down the runway, a couple of minutes later we arrived at cruise altitude and we levelled off.
My first exercise of the day was the effect on the controls at different airspeeds, so the instructor first set a attitude and allowed the airspeed to settle. I then had a bit of a fiddle with the elevator, rudder, and ailerons to feel the firmness of them, which was quite a bit stiffer then I thought they would be. Keeping the same power setting we pitched up until our airspeed was reduced - we then did the same thing, taking notice how the controls dont have as much feel at slower airspeeds, as there is less air flowing over them. Second exercise was the effect of slipstream, where airspeed was maintained but power settings were varied - with the elevator and rudder becoming more effective due to slipstream from the engines - differing from the 'different airspeeds' exercise above where there was a constant airflow over all parts of the plane rather then just the elevator and rudder. (Sorry I dont really no how to explain that, I hope you get me) Once that was over with it was time to head back to the airport for landing, so the instructor let me have a go at the approach with help, before touching down at the stall warning on the runway.
Overall it was an interesting lesson, with time to enjoy the scenery. I then taxied back before sutting down.
We then climbed into the aircraft with the instructor giving me a lesson on how to belt yourself into the harness, before getting me to write down the aircraft flight time and checking all the airworthness certificates, flight manuals, axe, fire extinguisher, etc were on board. We then started the aircraft up and I got to taxi the aircraft out the runway for takeoff, and soon we were full throttle down the runway, a couple of minutes later we arrived at cruise altitude and we levelled off.
My first exercise of the day was the effect on the controls at different airspeeds, so the instructor first set a attitude and allowed the airspeed to settle. I then had a bit of a fiddle with the elevator, rudder, and ailerons to feel the firmness of them, which was quite a bit stiffer then I thought they would be. Keeping the same power setting we pitched up until our airspeed was reduced - we then did the same thing, taking notice how the controls dont have as much feel at slower airspeeds, as there is less air flowing over them. Second exercise was the effect of slipstream, where airspeed was maintained but power settings were varied - with the elevator and rudder becoming more effective due to slipstream from the engines - differing from the 'different airspeeds' exercise above where there was a constant airflow over all parts of the plane rather then just the elevator and rudder. (Sorry I dont really no how to explain that, I hope you get me) Once that was over with it was time to head back to the airport for landing, so the instructor let me have a go at the approach with help, before touching down at the stall warning on the runway.
Overall it was an interesting lesson, with time to enjoy the scenery. I then taxied back before sutting down.
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