David's Flight Adventures

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...

So today is the 16th of May 2020 and we have been on COVID-19 lockdown since the 23rd March, so there has been no flying at all.  As of Wednesday 13th May, the Government started to relax the rules on lockdown to allow you to go out and about more, but still observing Social Distancing, which means keeping 2 metres from anyone who is not part of your household.  They have relaxed the rules on driving so it does mean you can drive to somewhere to get your daily exercise and you are able to exercise as much as you like.  It does mean that I can get the kit out of the garage and go for a drive when the weather picks up. On Friday 14th at lunchtime, the BMAA (British Microlight Aircraft Association) released a statement to say that the DfT (Department for Transport) has agreed that GA flying could resume, but with restrictions.  This means that only solo flying or flying with someone from your own household is allowed, there is no other dual flying, which means there i...

COVID - 19 Clench Common, where I am learning has, along with a number of other flying schools, decided to suspend all flight training and all flying activities and have closed the airfield to all people. I had lessons and exams booked but they will just have to wait.  In the downtime I can continue to review both Aircraft General and Human Factors and start looking at Meteorology and Navigation.  Finally, will be the Communications Practical exam.  I have online and downloaded training material, so I have plenty to keep me going. No one knows how long this thing will last and how long we will be under 'Social Isolation'.  I am under instruction to 'Work From Home' with my full time job so I can try and get some extra study done in-between tasks.  Something positive has to come from this horrible situation. Purchases this post Renewal of Quizero for 6 months £46.98 Totals Total Costs = £3433.39 Total Hours Icarus C42 = 11 hours 40 minutes ...