Its been a while .....

Firstly an apology to my avid readers (all two of you, Dad and Janice) for not updating my blog for over a month. I haven't suffered from a case of (sky)writers block as the cartoon suggests.  I just put it down to sheer tardiness!

Anyway since my last update I have had two lesson on the 20th April and the 2nd May and three cancellations.  Two due to weather one due to instructor sickness.

The lesson on the 20th was with Gavin again and we covered climbing and descending with flaps.  Much the same as my previous lesson except done at a slower speed and a different attitude that comes with deploying the flaps.

Basically what flaps do is (copied from wikipedia) increase the camber of the wing airfoil, thus raising the maximum lift coefficient. This increase in flaps also increases drag. This can be beneficial in the approach and landing phase because it helps to slow the aircraft. Another useful side effect of flap deployment is a decrease in aircraft pitch angle. This provides the pilot with a greater view over the nose of the aircraft and allows a better view of the runway during approach and landing.

My landing at the end of this lesson was a lot better than previous, then again a worse one would have been classed as a crash!  Aren't all landings just controlled crashes though???  I'm not sure how much, if any, input Gavin had but I was happy with it even if he did give me a little help.

The lesson on the 2nd was with another new instructor, David, a fellow Englishman in this land of the Shamrock.  My youngest child Ben came along for the ride and acted as on-board photographer, however failed to get a picture of me!  He did manage one of himself though which was good of him.


And as the lesson was turning this allowed him to get some good pictures outside. Well done wee man.

Can you spot the airfield?

This lesson was my first in a different aircraft.  I was initially given the keys to CG but halfway through my checks David came out and switched me to CE as a passenger in CG previously had decided to leave the contents of their stomach as a thank you for the flight!  It had been cleaned up but there was still a bit of a smell.  CE is identical to CG so no dramas there.


It was a bit gusty but within the limits for me to fly and also the wind was coming for a new direction for me so this meant taking off from a different runway.  Runway 08.  As I was taking off David asked me where I was from, I told him Gosforth, just north of Newcastle.  He said that he knew it very well.  I didn't quiz him on how he knew it as I was too busy concentrating on keeping the aircraft in a climb and pointing in the general direction that we needed to go.  The wind was blowing me about all over the place but I managed to make the necessary corrections.


I leveled off at 1500 feet and pointed the nose towards Donaghadee as instructed and we went thorough the planned exercises.  I didn't have too much trouble achieving what was required and I mentioned to David that I had done quite a bit of gliding when I was an Air Cadet many many moons ago.


Again all too soon it was time to head back to the airfield.  We entered the circuit for a landing on 04. Hmmm .... took off on 08 and landing on 04 .... this meant one thing to me .... a cross wind landing!  David informed me that I would not be doing the landing but I was to fly the approach.  To my surprise I actually found it quite easy crabbing towards the runway, keeping the runway numbers locked in the same place in the window, albeit a different spot in the window to a normal non-cross wind landing!  David took control about twenty foot or so from the ground, swung the tail straight and plonked us down.  I look forward to doing a the full cross wind landing soon.

On the taxi back to the club David asked me which ATC Squadron I had been in, 1114 Gosforth Sqn I replied. And because I wasn't struggling with the wind this time I asked him if he knew it.  It turns out that he did. He was also a member of that Sqn and had just left before I joined.  Small world eh!


Well as I mentioned at the beginning I have had a few cancellations since this last lesson and as I have just had to buy a new car I don't think I will have another lesson until next month, buts that only a week away so not too bad.  Things to look forward to between then and now is a visit to Belfast City airports air traffic control and the clubs 50th anniversary fly in which I have volunteered to help out at.  Should be a good chance to meet some other of the club members.

Did I mention that I did the landing .....

Lesson number 5, exercises 7 & 8 (i) climbing and descending.  Again with another instructor, Daniel.  But as with the rest of them thoroughly excellent.  Also had my oldest boy Owen (11) in the back.  Even though he wont admit it to me ("Did you enjoy that Son?" - "Yeah, it was alright, humphhh") Janice tells me that he told her it was one of the best things he has ever done.  He even ditched his XBox for an hour or so after we got home to 'fly' on my FSX flight simulator.

The day started off not so well as five minutes into the drive to the airfield I realised that I had left my debit card at home.  A vital piece of equipment when learning to fly! So a quick about turn to go back and get it.  The result of this made me a few minutes late for my lesson.  I hate being late for anything, preferring to arrive ten to fifteen minutes early, so therefore I was a tad flustered.  The weather also was playing on my mind on the journey there.  It was a beautiful day but there was quite a haze therefore I was worried about there not being any horizon.  Another vital piece of 'equipment'. 

Anyway we got there and met up with Daniel and went into the ground brief.  All good as I had read up on the exercises and had a sound understanding of the principles.  Then armed with my new club check list I went out to Charlie Golf, threw Owen in the back and carried out the pre flight checks.  Still all good.  Daniel jumped in and I did the engine start, radio calls, taxi to the hold and the power checks.  Good, good, good and good.  Then things started to come unstuck!

After the power checks when you are ready to enter the runway you do a turn in the direction of the airfield circuit in order to check for any other aircraft.  During the turn I felt as if I was sitting too far back and didn't have enough control of the rudder so I stopped, asked Daniel to take control and moved my seat forward a touch.  Daniel informed me that after having called entry to the runway on the radio I should not have stopped.  One to remember for next time.  Then on take off them $*£$*^& rudder peddles again or more to the point, nothing wrong with the rudder peddles ..... it was $^$$%%£ me!  I forgot to put my heals on the floor again which resulted in a massive yaw to the left.  A quick 'oops' omitted from my mouth (remember Owen was in the back ... great control on my behalf ... unlike my take off!), yaw corrected and off up into the hazy yonder we went.  I was to have 'issues' with the rudder all lesson be it either under or over use.  Maybe because there was no horizon and nothing obvious to stick the nose on or maybe it just me.  Something to work on.  I'm not going to beat myself up too much over this as after all its only my fifth lesson and I'm still in the general handling phase.  It will come.

The planned exercises were carried out without any major dramas which I and Daniel were happy with then it was time to head back.  In previous lessons I have been instructed to fly towards the downwind leg of the circuit then the instructor has taken over and flown the downwind, base and final legs and landed with me following through on the controls. This time Daniel came over the intercom "Ok Jeff you are going to do this landing.  Have you landed before?"  "Ermm no!"  An excited smile spread across my face.

Daniel pointed me in the general direction and indicated where I was to turn to join the downwind leg and told me to descend to 1000 feet.  I reached the turning point and started a right turn, looked out of the left hand window and levelled out when I was flying parallel to the runway.  The turning point for the base leg was pointed out and upon reaching that I started a left turn.  The issue when flying a left hand circuit in an over-wing aircraft is that when you turn left onto base the wing obscures where the runway is.  Luckily I remembered that ahead of me were some warehouses that roughly marked the turning point for finals so I levelled out with the nose pointing at them.  A look out of the window revealed that we were indeed perpendicular to the runway.  I reduced the power to start a descent while Daniel took care of the flaps.

Upon reaching the warehouses I turned onto finals and gave a call on the radio.  Got the numbers on the runway, as previously instructed, onto a fixed point in my 'picture' and attempted to keep them there.  They weren't moving about so all was good.  Down we went till about twenty foot from the ground I changed my view from the numbers to a point at the far end of the runway and started to round out.  I was happy that I was now flying along above the runway and was pulling back on the yoke waiting for the stall warner to sound and to sink onto the ground but it wasn't happening.  Then ... bump! and back up into the air we went.  A sharp but calm 'my control' from Daniel and we were back down.  Did I mention that I did the landing .... well sort of.....

A bit of wacky racing taxing (it was a busy day at the airfield ) to get back to the apron, shut down and then de-brief.  Pretty much as I expected, work on rudder control and more of a flare when landing otherwise all good.

Another much enjoyed lesson and I look forward to the next one.  Exercises 7 & 8 (ii) climbing and descending with flaps.

I'll huff and I'll puff....

No flying yesterday, wind was too strong.  Never mind, got the drive power hosed instead!

Re-booked for Sunday morning.  First time flying at the weekend.  Forecast is for low clouds, winds from the WSW at 17km/h.  Not too low I hope as the next exercise is supposed to be climbing.


Normal Layout (so you can leave a comment if you wish)

Short but sweet - The flight and this write up!

Hold 22

Lesson 4 today I thought would be a no go due to the weather, but we headed along to the club anyway as I wanted to buy a couple of things.  As the airfield came into sight I saw CG taking off and heading into a circuit so my hopes were raised but not by much as today's lesson was to be straight and level at different airspeeds.  A lesson that you need to have a horizon and from where I was there wasn't much of one!

I went into reception and asked Jan, the operations manager if they were flying.  She looked out the window, saw that CG was in circuits and declared a yes.  I then found my instructor, Gavin, and he was happy to go up and give it a go, so it was off into the classroom for the ground brief.

Ground brief done it was out to the aircraft with Gavin to go through the pre-flight checks.  I did these with the aid of my Pooleys check-list which I am still not overly happy with as it does not seem to flow and has, from seeing other check-lists (thanks to QSD from the Flyer forums), bits missed out.  One extra check we did that I haven't done before was to drain some of the fuel for inspection.  This is done from two drain points on each wing and one under the engine.  I was happy enough with this as this was one of the checks I used to have to do on the fuel bowsers when I was a groundie in the Army Air Corps.

Engine started, taxi to hold, powechecks done and off we went.  I was concious this time to keep my heels on the ground and the take off seemed a lot straighter.  I don't know if this was due to Gavin helping or down to me getting the hang of it.  I fear the former!  Janice, again waiting for me in the cafe, commented on my return that she too thought the take off looked better than previous.

As we gained height it became obvious that the weather was far from ideal for the lesson with a cloud base at about 2000 feet and 5 KM visibility with no real horizon.  Not great but just good enough.  So out over the peninsular we started the exercises.  Straight and level (S&L)at 70 knots, S&L at 120 knots, S&L with first stage of flaps and S&L with second stage of flaps.  It was difficult but not impossible to 'get the picture' in the windscreen at the different attitudes and speeds and after one attempt at each Gavin was happy enough I had grasped the principles.  He joked that I could count this as one of my instrument lessons!  With only twenty minutes gone we would have moved onto exercise seven which is climbing but as the cloud was so low it was not to be so we headed back and landed.  Total flight time twenty five minutes.

The one advantage to having a short flight is that the bill isn't as big!  It costs about £2.50 per minute for a lesson.  I'll let you do the maths!  And as I have already mentioned I wanted to buy a couple of things (club Cessna 172 check-list and the newest Air Law manual)the shorter lesson made this hit less.

Next lesson I plan to do on the 4th April and I have also volunteered myself to help out at the clubs 50th Anniversary Fly In on the 1st weekend in June.

No fly zone in Northern Ireland ...

There isn’t really a no fly zone just some of my (so called) friends have suggested that all self-respecting pilots should land immediately after I take off to avoid having to share the same bit of sky!

Anyway lesson number three was with another instructor, Roger, and the plan was to do some straight and level flight.  We began with a classroom brief on what would be required once airborne and how the lesson would need to be spread across two lessons.  Lesson one straight and level at the same power setting to be followed at another time with straight and level at different airspeeds.

Essentially, because all the flying is VFR, flying straight and level is about choosing a reference point in front of you and keeping that ‘picture’ without any pitch, roll or yaw (attitude) at the same altitude.  With this knowledge imparted on me I was given the keys got Charlie Golf (the same aircraft again) and with my new Cessna 172 checklist in hand was told to go and do the external pre-flight checks.  This is what I am doing in the picture above.  Janice still cannot be persuaded to take one of the seats in the back so she once again retired to UFC’s excellent café.

External checks done I took my seat in the cockpit and awaited Rogers arrival then again with my checklist I carried out the internal checks and engine start.  This is the first time I have done this with only me ‘pushing the knobs and pulling the switches’.  Which brings me onto my first issue that hopefully the readers of this blog from the flyers forum can offer me advice.  The checklist I have bought is the Cessna 172 from Pooleys.  This seems to be a generic checklist for all Cessna 172s and has some extra checks that do not apply to the 172SP.  Whereas I credit myself with enough intelligence to just skip these checks I am interested to see if any of you forumites have experienced this or what your opinion on this is.

Engine fired up we taxied to the runway 22 hold and carried out the power tests.  We could see a microlight on downwind and Roger called on the radio that we were going to do an immediate take off.  What this means is that as soon as we are on the runway its full power applied and off we go!  As this was only my third take off it was all a bit of a rush and I forgot to put my heels on the floor after releasing the toe brakes.  We were not trundling along with the brakes on but not having my heels on the floor did make it hard to control the yaw caused by the slipstream from the propeller.  I didn’t catch on to this until we were at about 1000 feet.  I must remember not to do this and to relax a bit more next time.

We flew down to the Ards Peninsular again to carry out the planned exercises which I enjoyed immensely especially when Roger would take control of the aircraft, put it out of trim then into an unusual attitude then hand back to me to recover …. Roll the wings level, correct the pitch and get in balance to ‘get the picture’ then trim.  Ace!

Once I was comfortable with the straight and level Roger told me to pick a reference point in the Mourne Mountains and told me to keep straight and level on it.  He then proceeded to adjust the power a few times to demonstrate how the change in power affected the attitude of the plane.  I managed to keep us on the reference point without too much trouble.

Once again the time was up far too quickly.  I wish my time spent in work passed at this perceived pace!  Back to the airfield and a landing which Roger allowed me to follow on the controls while he talked me through all that he was doing. 

All in all a great day for flying and a lesson I really enjoyed with a very good instructor.  I can’t wait for the next one!

That will be me taking off then ....

Is it small or is it far away?  Doesn't matter really because I am at the controls of that small dot taking off for my second lesson. Yea!

Finally after a month and some of bad weather I got airborne for my second lesson.  This time it was with the Chief Flying Instructor, David, and a lot more in depth than my first air experience flight in January.  Object of the day was to teach and demonstrate the effects of the controls.

Those of you reading this that have a little knowledge of flying may be thinking that this would be 'wee buns' ... push the stick forward you go down, pull the stick back you go up, move it right you go right etc.  It is a lot more thourough than this.  Too much to go into in this blog so if you are interested have a look here.

So anyway the lesson started off with a ground brief on the primary and further effects of the flight controls, the effects on the controls at different speeds, the effects of slipstream and triming.  Then it was out to the aircraft (G-UFCG again) and a walkthrough talkthrough of all the pre-flight checks.  Jump in, strap in, wind up the rubber band and off we went.  A call on the radio (done by me, Army signals training came in handy here!) to let whoever was listening that we were taxing and backtracking along the runway for a take off on 04.  Once again I was allowed to do the taxing however it was a wee bit faster than last time as we were backtracking along the runway.  David asked me to take a right turn off the runway.  He gave this request about 50 meters before the turn and there was no way I was going to get the plane slowed down in time so he took control and carried out what felt like a handbrake turn off the runway.  We stopped and carried out the engine power tests and then taxied back onto the runway.

"Ok Jeff, do you want to do the take off?" .... "Yes please!".  Full power applied, gentle movements on the rudder to keep us in a straight line, 55 knots, a steady pull back on the yoke and up we went.  A bit of right rudder to correct the yaw caused by the slipstream and a positive rate of climb achieved.  Take off number two in the bag!

We turned right and climbed to 2000 feet and headed out over the Ards Peninsular to carry out the planned exercises which I am pleased to say all went very well.  During my first lesson I found I was flying more so using the instruments rather than looking out the window and using the horizon to set the plane attitude.  This time I made more of a concious effort to do this and I was happy with the results, only scanning the instruments to confirm speed and height, a quick glance at the slip ball when doing a turn to make sure I wasn't slipping in the turn and a look at the tachometer to set the desired engine revs.

The only concern I have is my use of the rudder.  It doesn't feel natural yet.  Having looked on the various flying forums this seems to be a common problem with student pilots.  I guess it will come with time.  Its only my second lesson after all so I shouldn't really expect it all to fall into place straight away; but all those that know me will know that when I do something I strive for it to be done properly every time!

Anyhoo again all too soon it was time to head back to the airfield.  David landed, taxied back and parked up.  We went back into the club house and a student record sheet was started for me.  I saw that David wrote in the comments field 'All Good'.  Happy Days!

When I was at the reception paying for my lesson, club membership and shiny new logbook a club member standing next to me welcomed me to 'The Poor Mans Club'.  That may be so but I think its going to be worth it!

Hours flown:

          Dual:  1.25
          Solo:  0.0

-RADZ BKN012

Foiled by the weather again yesterday!  I wasn't too surprised though.  A flying day for me (there has only been one successful one so far) starts with a look out the window, followed by a look at the weather on the Ulster Flying Clubs weather page, then a look at their apron web cam to check out the windsock and to see if any aircraft have been pushed out.  Finally I check my email for the daily Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF) for Belfast City Airport (EGAC).  EGAD does not publish a TAF so EGAC is the closest.

As-well as learning to actually fly an aircraft essentially you have to learn a new language!  A TAF looks like this:

TAF EGAC 250801Z 2509/2518 30012KT 9999 SCT015 BKN025 

TEMPO 2509/2518 7000 -RADZ BKN012

Broken down it means this:

• TAF indicates that it is a Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (you can get a METAR as-well!)
• EGAC tells us it is for Belfast City Airport
• 250801Z is the date and time it was issued ... 25th day of the month at 0801 UTC
• 2509/2518 shows us that it is valid from 0900 to 1800 on the 25th
• 30012KT is the wind direction and speed.... 12 Knots at 300 degrees
• 9999 means that visibility is greater than 10KM
• SCT015 is scattered cloud at 1500 feet
• BKN025 is a broken (over half the sky) cloud layer at 2500 feet
• TEMPO - Temporary deterioration in the weather
• 2509/2518 is the same as before
• 7000 means the visibility will reduce to 7000 meters
• -RADZ indicates rain and drizzle
• BKN012 is again broken cloud but at 1200 feet this time

So in layman terms the TAF reads:  That between 0900 and 1800 on the 25th at Belfast City Airport the wind will be blowing at 12 knots from the north west.  Visibility will be greater than 10 kilometres with scattered cloud at 1500 feet and broken cloud at 2500 feet.  During the same period the weather is likely to deteriorate with the visibility reducing to 7000 meters through some rain and drizzle and the broken cloud dropping to 1200 feet.  

To me it reads 'No Flying Lesson Today!'

Before I set off for the aerodrome I call the club to confirm if flying is on or not.  With the information above at hand it offsets my disappointment when I’m told that flying is cancelled.

Ground School

As part of PPL training I have to pass 7 written ground exams.  The subjects being:

• Air Law (Must be passed before doing first solo flight).
• Human Performance and Limitations
• Meteorology
• Navigation
• Flight Performance and Planning
• Aircraft General and Principles of Flight
• Radio Telephony

I just got off ebay this week the books I need to study.  They are a bit more in depth than the lessons I used to have in Nav and Principles of Flight when I was an Air Cadet!

No doubt if you know me I will be 'bearding' you soon with facts about static preasure increases and secondary effects of the control surfaces. You have been warned!

Up up and away!

Yea! First lesson this morning in a Cessna 172SP reg G-UFCG.

My lesson was booked for 0930 so from getting up I was constantly looking at the sky commenting to Janice that the weather looked fine.  I decided that instead of ringing the club to see if they were flying we would just go and take a chance.  At least I would be able to have a look around and get to meet the staff even if I didn't fly.

As we were getting closer to the airfield the cloud base looked to be at about 1500 feet but in the distance over Strangford Lough the cloud seemed to be higher and the sky brighter which was promising as that would be the direction the lesson would take me.

We arrived at the airfield at about 0920 and went to the reception. "Hello, I'm here for a trial flight."  "Good Morning Mr Johnston, If you would like to go through to the lounge your instructor will be with you shortly."  Excellent.  It looks like a go!

The club house is very nice.  Comfortable and clean.  There is a plaque on the wall saying that the original club house was opened in 1975 by a certain Group Captain Sir Douglas Bader, DSO DFC.  I guess I'm in good company then!


My instructor, Brian, came and introduced himself and went off to complete the necessary paperwork then it was time to go.  Janice declined a seat in the back of the plane and went off to the cafe.  On the way out to the plane I told Brian that I had experience flying with the ATC and that I had done one solo in a glider albeit over 20 years ago!  "Good" he replied "We'll see how quickly it all comes back to you".  We'll see indeed!


I climbed into the left hand seat of the cockpit and was surprised at how small it was.  A lot smaller than the cockpit in MS Flight Simulator!  He started the engine, pulled the plane forward and asked me if I wanted to do the taxi. Ehm OK!  To steer a plane on the ground is not like driving a car.  The 'wheel' or yoke in flying speak does the sum total of nothing when on the ground.  Its all done with the rudder peddles at your feet.  Push the left peddle to go left and push the right peddle to go right.  Simples!  Oh and did I mention you brake by pushing your toes forward.  Luckily there was a nice yellow line for me to follow.


We stopped short of the runway and Brian carried out the power up checks.  More about these another time after I have learnt to do them.  Brian then taxied onto the runway, lined up on the center line and told me to put my hands and feet on the controls.  "Ok Jeff as we move down the runway use the rudder peddles to keep us on the center line.  Good, now pull back gently on the yoke" and up we went.  Did I just take off or did Brian?  "Ok Jeff, to counteract the torque apply some right rudder".  The aircraft slews dramatically to the right.  I guess it was me flying the plane then!  I corrected the slew with some left rudder.


We (I even!) continued to climb with a left turn to 1500 feet and headed off down the west shoreline of Strangford Lough.  I could hear Brian talking to Belfast City air traffic control letting them know of our intentions. As we were flying along I told Brian that I was 'chasing' the vertical speed indicator trying to keep us at a set altitude.  He took control and demonstrated to me the lag in the vsi by descending and then climbing rather sharply and levelling off.  This caused a wee bit of negative G.  Nice!


Brian then demonstrated some 30 degree turns to the left and right then it was my turn. After a couple of tentative ones loosing about 200 foot in height I soon got the hang of them.  It was starting to come back to me.  All these turns eventually had used heading back up the eastern shoreline.  This was followed by having to pick out a point 90 degrees to the left, turning onto it and levelling out.

All too quickly Brian took back control of the aircraft and was descending on base leg for the airfield, turned finals and we landed.  He turned the plane around and let me taxi back to the apron.  First lesson in the bag and I now have definitely got the 'bug' and want some more.  Back in the club house I thanked Brian and went to the reception to gather all the data on what I had to do to continue with this new hobby.  Information in hand I went and found Janice in the cafe and told stories of derring do.  She, as it turns out, had had a enjoyable time in the cafe and had managed to score two free coffees and a scone!

Till the next time 'Happy Landings'

Hours Flown:
      
          Dual: 0.5
          Solo: 0.0

First Flight - Or not!

1st flight was booked for Wed 5th Jan.  Didn't happen though .... gusting wind and ice on the runway.  Nevermind.  I have re booked for Thurs 13th.

From the accounts I have read of people doing their PPLs it seems the weather is the biggest enemy.  Forewarned is forearmed!

The Beginning

What the hell is PPL at EGAD???  Well I hope this to be my account of attaining my Private Pilots License (PPL) at Newtownards Airfield (EGAD).

This is something I have wanted to do since being a small child but until this Christmas has just been a pipe dream that I have not done anything about.  My partner Janice has got me two trial flights which is the kick up the arse I need to get started. Thank you Janice.