David's Flight Adventures

It has been a very long time since my last update and this is because I couldn't be bothered to create new posts when it is only me that probably reads this anyway.  However, a lot has happened since February 2022 when the last update was written. Following the last update, I continued with my flight training with GS Aviation at Clench Common.  My main instructor was Dave Rogerson, not for any other reason than it seemed to fall that way.  I was not complaining as I got on well with him.  I had reached the number of solo hours I needed and completed all the required training sections of the syllabus and just needed some revision flights prior to my General Skills Test (GST).  I did several GST revision sessions with Dave Rogerson and also took advantage of a 'grounded' day to go over the ground oral part of the exam.  This is basic stuff such as passenger briefings, general airfield safety and a good general knowledge of the aircraft, especially with regard...

Lesson 35 - 44 - 3rd August 2021 - 3rd Feb 2022 It is a long time since my last update, in fact it was July 2021 since I last wrote any update here.  To be honest with anyone who may be reading this (probably only me!), I decided that writing up each lesson was not that helpful.  I found that I was repeating the same things over and over and writing that up in a blog was not productive.  However, I have now completed 2 more important steps in my progress towards my NPPL(M) and it was worth writing up.  They are the Cross Country Navigation exercises, or Navex, and my Solo Consolidation. Solo Consolidation To complete the licence, you need to have completed a minimum of 25 hours instruction, of which 10 hours has to be solo.  Probably only about 1% or 2% of trainee pilots would complete their training in the minimum time, it is more likely to be 1 hour for each year of your age.  On this basis I should take about 60 hours in total, although I am currently at...

Lesson 34 - 20th July 2021 Continuing with the solo consolidation again today.  I was with Dave Slater today and we started by doing a few circuits.  Although it was a glorious day, it was a bit choppy and the wind was varying between runway 2 5 and runway 3 3.   My landings were not brilliant but were OK enough. Once Dave was happy, we went back to the clubhouse and plotted out a slightly different local route.  It was similar to the previous route, but going a little bit further and going clockwise this time.  I plotted it out on SkyDemon to see if I could follow that.  I had the route on the physical map, but most people tend to use moving map technology, also called an Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) on an iPad or the like.  They are the Sat Nav of the sky.  I use SkyDemon as that is the most common one used in the UK.  I have had a look at ForeFlight but I didn't find it as logical to use. As well as the exercise to navigate the route, anoth...

 Lesson 32 - 30th June 2021 This was pretty much more of the same again as the last few weeks.  This time I was with Martin and we started with 2 touch and goes and then a full stop landing.  Martin got out and sent me on my own to do a double lap of the forest.  This is good as it is building up my solo hours (now standing at 4 hours 45 minutes).  Martin said I will need to do that again next time and then we can look at the proper cross country, probably to Popham. The forest circuit was OK but I was very inconsistent with my altitude.  I need to be more consistent.  I should have been at about 1700ft (on the QNH), based on the cloud base, but it varied from 1400ft to 2000ft when I wasn't paying attention.  It is something that you need to be watching all the time, like the speed in a car. At one point, Dave came over the radio to ask where I was as he was doing circuits with a new student.  I gave a very wishy washy response about going al...

 Lesson 31 - 17th June 2021 This lesson was more of the same.  I did a 20 minute session with Graham for him to see that I was OK in the circuit and to handle the aircraft and then I was sent off on my own to complete 2.5 circuits of the local NAVEX that I have done before. The only thing that I was concerned about was the rejoin and landing but that was OK.  The landing was a bit slow and I, as Graham commented, 'parachuted' in.  I forgot to look towards to end of the runway and keep flying the aircraft.  Fortunately, the C42 is a very forgiving aircraft and I got away with it.  Just another thing to remember for next time. Totals 75 minutes £168.75 Total Costs = £6418.86 Total Hours Icarus C42 = 33 hours 30 minutes

Lesson 30 - 8th June 2021 Today I was with the new instructor.  His name is David Rogerson, or Dave 2 as he is also known.  We were in the oldest of the 3 C42s, Charlie Oscar.  It may be the oldest, but there is something about it that I like, from a flying perspective.  It just seems to fly nicer than the other 2. Dave 2 decided we would start with a couple of circuits, just so he could assess me and then I could go on and complete the extended circuits again.  However, the weather was very thermic and after a couple of aborted landing son runway 2 5, I advised that I was not comfortable flying on my own today, which Dave 2 agreed was a good shout. We flew away from the airfield to do some general handling.  This included a couple of PFLs.  Interestingly, Dave 2 indicated that the PFL and the circuit re-join were 2 of the main items of the GST that are focussed on.  As usual, I talked my way through everything so Dave 2 was aware of my thinking p...

 Lesson 29 - 29th May 2021 First NAVEX (Navigation Exercise) away from the airfield. The session today was in 2 parts.  The first was for Martin to assess my general circuits and landings and then to take me round the extended circuit.  The second part was for me to fly solo away from eh airfield and repeat the extended circuit.   There are no extended descriptions in this entry as all I did was to fly  circuit.  I flew using 4 directions. 090, 360, 270 then 180 and then repeat for a second time.  So go East, go North, go West go South then finally back East. I just followed the directions given to me for the rejoin so more details will be added to the next entry as it was covered in more depth. 35 minutes Dual 50 minutes Solo Totals 1 hour 25 minutes £191.25 Total Costs = £6126.36 Total Hours Icarus C42 = 31 hours 20 minutes

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...

Lesson 27 - 1st May 2021 My lesson on the 24th April was cancelled due to high winds, which was a shame as the previous week I had worked with Martin on getting back in to the circuit and landings. This week I was with Dave and the idea was to continue with that practice.  We were using 0 7 again this week but the wind was a bit cross runway, albeit only about 5 to 10 knots.  Dave threw in a couple of fan stops in the circuit to make sure I remembered how I would deal with them.  One was straight ahead off 0 7 and the other was part way round the circuit so I was able to pick 3 3 to land on. After about 40 minutes of this, Dave said to go back to the parking areas so he could get out and I could do some circuits on my own. I have to admit that I wasn't really expecting this, as I didn't think I had done particularly well, but Dave obviously thought differently. It was a repeat of my first solo except that this time no extra ballast was added.  As before, I did 3 circ...

It has been 5 months since I last flew.  COVID-19 has taken its toll on all activities, and flying was no exception.  We have been on another countrywide lockdown and only from the 12th April has dual flying and instruction been allowed.  I must say that I was surprised to be able to get in on the first Saturday after lockdown, but I have.   Lesson 26 I was with Martin today.  We had to do the flight in 2 stages as we were not allowed to fly between 3pm and 4pm due the funeral of HRH Prince Phillip. To be honest, there was not much in this one as it was just trying to get back in to the swing of things.  I remembered most things but was a bit rusty.   The first 40 minutes was spent with a some straight and level, a couple of stalls and a PFL. The second hour was spent on circuits.  My circuits and landings improved as the 2nd hour went on and Martin thinks I will need another hour to nail it and be ready to go solo again. Totals 1 hour 40 minutes ...

We had agreed that this week we had 3 options.  The first was to continue with circuits and to get me back doing them on my own to do some solo consolidation.  The second option was to go and do exercise 15, 'Unusual Attitudes and Recovery'.  The final was to start looking at navigation and cross country.  There was a cross wind on runway 2 5, so it was decided that it was too much for me to go solo, so we settled on the second option of unusual attitudes. We started by briefing the exercise and going through what the correct procedure was to recover from each of the 4 main unusual attitudes. Nose down - Set the power to idle and gently ease out of the dive.  Pull up and when the aircraft has settled at about 60/70 knots, re-apply power to maintain straight and level flight. Nose up - Set the power to full to maintain the climb and then lower the nose to get back to level flight.  Once level, reduce the power to maintain straight and level flight. Spiral ...

Following the euphoria of the first solo it has been a quiet 7 weeks.  I had 3 weeks where the weather was against me and then another 4 week of the UK being in another COVID-19 lockdown.  The week leading up to this had also been unsettled and it wasn't until the actual flying day that I could see that it was going to be possible to fly at all. As I hadn't flown for 7 weeks, we decided that we would start by going away from the airfield just to get back in to it again.  We did some straight and level, level turns, climbing and descending turns and a couple of practice forced landings (PFLs). We then got back in to the nitty gritty of circuits and landings.  All in all they were reasonable considering the time since I last did them.  There were a few notes: 1. One landing I was too high and fast and I really should have gone around but instead landed a bit too long.  I was thinking it, but should have acted on it.  There is no shame going around! 2. An...

First Solo This is a day in your training that you will never forget and will only ever happen once.  You might do a first solo in a new aircraft type further down the line, but this will always be the first real solo. The day was calm and even had a little bit of blue sky poking through.  I was originally booked in for an hour today but someone else cancelled and I took advantage and booked a second lesson slot, and it proved to be very worthwhile.  Today was my first time using runway 0 7 which has a bit of a dog leg approach and also means you have to come in over a line of trees.  The land owner was supposed to have felled a gap in to the trees that was in line with the runway, but got it wrong, so you still have to come in over the trees.  I spent the hour learning the circuit and approach and as the hour went on, it got better.  There were a few things to pick up on such as getting the flare right and landing down the middle of the runway.  I was...

It has been 4 weeks since I last flew.  The UK weather has been pretty awful with either wind, rain or a combination of the 2, so it was good to back at the flying school again. Today wasn't brilliant as it was still windy, probably 15 knots gusting to 20 knots, so it was decided that it was not particularly beneficial just to keep doing circuits.  After a chat with my instructor, it was agreed that we would move on to another part of the syllabus, part 16a, practice forced landings, or PFLs as they are known. There are 6 stages to the PFL: 1. Airspeed - set the aircraft up for the best glide speed, which for the C42 is 58 knots. Anywhere between 58 and 60 is fine.  This gives you the best option to glide the farthest distance. 2. Wind - Note the wind direction and speed.  Use anything and everything to tell you this.  If you have a map with you, mark a line on the map with the wind direction or use the wind direction indicators on SkyDemon.  Also look for ...

Circuits I am at the stage of my training now where I am trying to master the hardest part of learning to fly, the landing.   I have just about got the hang of the take off and climb out although I have been getting my fair share of cross winds, so that has been an extra learning experience.  It has to be done though, as there are airfields that I will visit where there is a single runway so you have no choice but to take off and land in a cross wind. I am probably doing between 15 and 20 circuits and landings per lesson, some where I track back and do a fresh take off and some where we just apply full power and go again.  Dave tends to get me to do a mixture of the 2, whereas Martin just prefers to do touch and go's. I have had a couple where I have bounced back in to the air and have applied full power to go around and these were caused by not holding back on the stick enough.  I also still have the bad habit of relaxing once I am on the ground and letting the stic...

Woke today to find the weather in Gloucester was not conducive to flying.  I decided I would head to the airfield anyway as it is over an hour away and the weather can often be very different.  Today was not one of those days, in fact the weather was worse.  I had decided that if I couldn't fly I would try and sit an exam and as Graham was there, he was able to officiate and set the exam and then mark it. I have been studying Aircraft General for the last few weeks, so this was the one to sit.  I was a little surprised to find that it was a 50 question multiple choice paper with 1 hour 15 minutes to complete.  The previous 2 had been 20 questions and 30 or 45 minutes, if I remember correctly. So 50 questions worth 2 marks each and a pass mark of 70.  I set about it, reading the questions out loud as that makes them sink in better for me.  I completed the paper in 50 minutes and then Graham came in to mark it.  I only got 3 questions wrong, so a pa...

Today was another hour continuing with circuits.  Once again the wind was pretty much straight down 2 5 so a repeat of all the previous circuits.  It was a little bit bumpy so not a perfect day. We concentrated on some take offs instead of just doing touch and go's and, obviously, on the landings.  Today it just seemed like an uphill trek!  Again I wasn't relaxed and was forcing the aircraft a bit too much.  I was very stiff with my legs and feet on the rudders and need to be a bit more relaxed there. Take off wise, these got a bit better as the hour went on and I must remember to keep the right rudder in more as the aircraft it as full power as there is more prop wash forcing it to yaw.  I need to watch my attitude in the turns, especially when I have different levels of flap on.  Landings, I need to concentrate on lining up with the centre line and using more of the rudder to steer the aircraft.  Dave also said that he wanted to feel me using th...

I was back with Dave Slater today and we carried on with circuits, touch and go's and landings.  The wind was between 5 and 10 kts and pretty much down runway 25 again, so the same as last week.  However, today was very thermic which made things quite bumpy and the aircraft was being moved about quite a bit. Overall, it wasn't too bad, considering the conditions but there were a number of takeaways. Circuit pattern was good but I have to watch my speed and altitude.  I ranged from 300 feet to 800 feet on the down wind leg and the circuit height is 500 feet so I have to be careful to maintain that. Checks and radio calls were good.  I tried to follow what I had written down for both of these. Turning on to final was OK but I was not always lined up on the centre line. I was in reasonable control of the speed coming in and was applying power when needed.  It got better as the hour went by. Round out and landing was not good.  I have a tendency to pull the sti...

It was another overcast day today, but it was quite calm so was perfect for circuits.  Today I was with Martin as my instructor and we were flying Charlie Oscar.  This is the oldest of the C42s in the GS Aviation fleet and will soon be up for renewal, possibly sometime later this year or early 2021.  This is what they do once the aircraft has reached a certain number if hours.  Accordingly, it is showing its age with a handheld radio and the headsets are multi-pin plug in types.  This was a bit annoying as I took delivery of my new Bose A20 headset today so was unable to use them.  It meant I was stuck with a club passive headset, which was horrible!  Oh well, next time, hopefully. The whole idea today was to carry on from last week and to just do circuits, and keep doing them.  As I think I have mentioned before,  circuits are quite full on when you are training and learning.  A whole circuit from take off to landing probably only last ...

As of the 4th July 2020, the UK Government has eased lockdown restrictions and now dual flying, which includes flying instruction, can now take place.  Naturally, my flying school, G S Aviation, is taking it very seriously and there are various rules and restrictions in place.  These are sensible measures to protect me and all the staff at the school. All flying is being booked in 2 hour slots and we are not allowed to be there unless we are booked in.  We must arrive no more that 10 minutes before and leave straight away afterwards.  We have to wear a mask and gloves at all times and wear our own headsets.  The aircraft also have to be wiped down after uses, meaning the controls, seatbelts, door handles and so on.  It all makes sense and is a small thing to go through to get back to flying. I haven't flown since 14th March, so this lesson will be more about familiarisation than anything else.   The weather on the day was very mixed, but after a couple...