Lesson 28 - 22nd May 2021

Lesson 28 - 22nd May 2021

It has been 3 weeks since my last flight due to the weather.  There is nothing I can do about this, it is just one of the problems of learning to fly in the UK.

Today was a repeat of the previous lesson.  I flew with Martin for 25 minutes just to get back in to circuits and landings and then he got out and I was on my own again.

I went from a shut down and this is where I made my first mistake.  I should have gone from the start and gone to the intersection and run through all my checks.  I did a radio check and then went for the runway.  Martin made a subtle comment about had I done all my checks and I sheepishly back tracked my way to the intersection to do it.

Lesson 1.  Always do the full run up checks when you are first PIC, even if you have just flown with an instructor!

From there I proceeded with the task, which was to overfly down runway 33 3 times and then do a full stop landing on the 4th.  From there it was a back track and repeat.

Lesson 2.  Taxi on the right of the runway so the on coming aircraft passes on your left!!  I think I may need to revise my air law!

On the third time I had been round once but could see the rain in the distance and could see mist on the windscreen.  I should have come straight in.  I went round again as I thought that is what I had been told to do.

Lesson 3.  I am PIC and I make the decisions and I should have landed.

The final landing was in to rain and, contrary to what you might think, the prop wash does not blow the rain off the windscreen!  The last landing was not brilliant and I ended up off to the left hand side of the runway and heading towards the fence a bit.  I got it down, applied some right rudder and got it back, but it was not pretty and I was a little shaken by it all.

Martin's response was that it was not ideal but that I was still in one piece and the aircraft was still in one piece so, on that basis, it was a good landing.

Lesson 4.  Remember the basics.  Pull back on the stick centrally, do not pull it towards you or you will veer to the left.  Watch the wind direction.  It had changed and it was probably better to use 2 5, which the following aircraft did.

All in all, it wasn't brilliant, but it was not bad and it is all part of the learning experience.

I have been advised that next time I will try my first mini NAVEX (Navigation Exercise) away from the airfield.  

Totals

1 hour 15 minutes £168.75

Total Costs = £5935.11

Total Hours Icarus C42 = 29 hours 55 minutes

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