Zero-E-Zero

Another grey morning, another Saturday, another flying lesson. Having passed my Air Law exam, I’m now beginning to revise for the Meteorology exam. By doing so, I’m starting to get the hang of interpreting the weather conditions. Today’s assessment: flying unlikely — the weather’s overcast and there’s quite a breeze blowing, with the ATIS reporting a strong wind warning in force. However, it turned out we would be flying today (a sign that I need to do more revision).

With my instructor out with another student, I took some time sat on the sofa at the flying club and read over the abridged version of the CAA’s CAP413 Radiotelephony Manual for General Aviation pilots, which I’d printed out and stuck in a folder.

Twenty minutes later and the once empty apron begins to fill up with PA28s, returning from previous lessons. A brief discussion with my instructor and his previous student, before I’m out on the tarmac inspecting today’s Warrior (Oscar Kilo, built in 1977).

With all the tea drunk, the engine spinning, and the aircraft suitably A-checked, it’s time to get airborne. I called for taxi, took the PA28 out to holding point alpha two, where I did the final power checks before being cleared for take off.

After a few successful circuits and a flapless landing or two, my instructor decided to introduce me to glide approaches. This required closing the throttle while downwind and attempting to glide all the way onto the runway, ignoring the traditional circuit pattern.

When the throttle’s closed, the first thing required is to get the aircraft into a glide configuration, maintaining a speed of 75 knots indicated. The flaps are only used when the runway is definitely “made”. It’s a real challenge to get the aircraft gliding at exactly the speed required, but it’s also interesting to see how far the aircraft can glide (should it need to).

Before long, time was up and I was taxiing the aircraft back to the hangar. Another week over, and another hour logged. Life as a student pilot continues.

I pulled into my usual parking space in the car park opposite the aero club and wandered in with a McDonald’s breakfast in hand for my girlfriend, instructor, and I. The weather was terrible, with low cloud hanging over the airfield. This wasn’t the case for the whole county; there were clear blue skies overhead my house twenty minutes away.

It was obvious that unless conditions improved, no flying would be taking place today. Thankfully, the flying club is a very sociable place, and the morning was spent talking computers, aircraft, and all things in between. After a while, I decided to head home, on the agreement that the flying club would call if conditions improved.

A few hours passed, and just as I was about to give up on flying at all, my phone rang – it was my instructor, saying conditions had improved and we were go for flying! I quickly gathered my things and headed over the airfield. As soon as I arrived, I got my aircraft checked and we were on our way.

The workload placed upon me by my instructor had been ever increasing in the hours leading up to today, and I was now at the level of taking control of the aircraft from initial engine start all the way to power off with little intervention from my instructor whatsoever. I called for taxi, took the aircraft off to the appropriate holding point where I did the necessary power checks before being cleared for take-off; we were away!

After a few circuits and glide approaches (simulated engine failures), I performed a touch and go before flying the aircraft up to 2,500ft into the overhead. Once at altitude, I was instructed to completely close the throttle and establish best-glide, before turning back towards the airfield and landing safely. Judging the distance the aircraft can glide seems to be something that’s becoming a little clearer to me. The more simulated engine failure manoeuvres I perform, the better I find my glide distance judgement; practice, practice, practice.

The runway in use today was 36, the helicopter circuit was active, and best of all, the runway’s VASI had been turned off. Usually I wouldn’t be so keen to land without approach indicators, but the practice is essential as not all airfields have them, so I want to make sure I can nail all of my approaches without the aid of PAPIs or VASIs.

As  I turned final I nailed the 75 knot approach speed. Approaching the aerodrome boundary I deployed the final stage of flaps to further reduce the aircraft’s airspeed. Flaps deployed and throttle on a low power setting, we crossed the aerodrome boundary when my instructor said “go around”, which caught me entirely off-guard. I’d just made the best approach of the day, and now we’re going around (for no other reason than training purposes).

It was at this point I made a mistake. Upon hearing the go around call I radioed the tower, “Foxtrott Tango 5 3, going around” and then shed the third stage of flaps before bringing the power up, establishing a high nose attitude before finally setting the carburettor heat to cold. The PA28 limped back up into the sky, despite my failure. What a blunder! Hours earlier I would’ve happily rattled off the correct go around sequence (power up, nose up, third stage of flap up, carburettor heat up (cold)). I couldn’t believe I’d gotten this wrong, which further highlighted how practice, practice, practice is absolutely essential. I’m not the first aviator to make this mistake, and I certainly won’t be the last, however, it’s something I’ll definitely learn from as this is not a mistake I ever want to make again!

As we climbed away I conveyed my dismay at my own actions, and my instructor professionally pointed out the correct go-around procedure. There would be time for reflection on the ground, however, my instructor pulled an active-runway change on me as we climbed away. This meant I quickly had to establish which part of the circuit I was in (downwind), make a radio call requesting a runway change, and permission to land off this approach, which was all approved. The light conditions were decreasing, cloud was lowering, and most important of all, we hadn’t had time for a mug of tea before the flight so we were both struggling.

As I made the final radio call downwind my instructor popped the top hatch of the door, simulating a crash-configuration where the PA28′s only door is “popped” open ahead of a crash landing to prevent trapping those onboard. The noise of the wind blowing in was enough to make communication a little difficult. Regardless, I was responsible for bringing the aircraft in for a safe landing, which I believe I did. Blocking the cold, noise, and rushing wind was a great challenge.

Back at the flying club we discussed some of the positive and negative points of today’s lesson before tucking into a slice of birthday cake and sipping piping hot tea. Another day, another lesson done.

I arrived at the flying club early (as usual) and was greeted with an air of uncertainty regarding whether the weather would permit flying today. None of the aircraft were out on the apron yet, and the sky was grey with cloud just waiting to unleash yet another downpour on Gloucestershire. I thought I’d find out which aircraft I may be flying and check it while it was still dry in the hangar, just in case.

Turns out this was a worthwhile pursuit – an aircraft A check and a mug of tea later and I was back in the hangar with the other flying instructors helping to drag around hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of aircraft as we positioned them on the apron ready for a day’s flying! The whole time we were doing this, a Cessna Citation jet parked on the apron next door was spinning its engines and filling our hangar with an overwhelming smell of spent aviation fuel; thanks, guys.

Shortly after my instructor and I were locked and latched into the PA28 which I was taxing from our hangar to the holding point just before runway 09. All checks complete, I called for taxi and received an interesting response. The active runway had changed from 09 to 27 in the time we were taxiing (we were now at the wrong end of the active runway with 4,600ft of tarmac between us and our new position – great). At this point my instructor requested a departure from 09, turning onto the dead side and then for us to make a 180 degree turn onto final before making a touch and go on runway 27, which was approved and we were off.

Sadly, the weather wasn’t good. Visibility was absolutely awful (we couldn’t see the Malvern hills from the apron earlier) and maintaining circuit altitude (1,000ft) and remaining within VMC was difficult thanks to the low cloud base. The METARs had reported cloud at 1,300ft but a blanket of cloud had rudely positioned itself right over the airfield at 950ft and it wasn’t going anywhere fast. To add to the already poor weather, this stubborn cloud also decided to rain on the airfield and after only three laps we decided to call it a day. I only managed to log 0.6 hours today, but it’s better than zero.

Hopefully the weather will improve next week.

I had initially planned to do my air law exam yesterday, however, I didn’t have the time to get it in before my double lesson, and after the lessons I was absolutely exhausted from flying in a busy circuit.

I woke up at 0630 not intending on doing my exam until next week, but decided that a little revision wouldn’t hurt. A few hours passed and, still revising, I decided that I could head off the airfield and have a crack at the exam before anyone would even be awake, and that’s exaclty what I did.

The weather was awful (a stark contrast from yesterday) and there was absolutely no movement at the airfield and the car park was more empty than usual. I strolled into the flying club and asked the chap working the desk if I could have a go at an Air Law exam. He set me up for the exam and with a few reassuring words of advice, closed the door to the classroom and left me to get on with it.

I emerged approximately thirty minutes later and nervously handed him my paper before retreating to the sofas nearby while he marked it. After what seemed like ages, he called me over and calmly told me I’d passed! Ecstatic, I decided to go wild and reward myself by buying a copy of Jeremy M. Pratt’s Navigation and Meteorology text book, which covers my next two exam topics. Revision continues.

As soon as I stepped foot inside the flying club, I noticed that it was busy. Really busy! By my reckoning, the weather this Saturday was the best we’ve seen in the south west for over two months, and it seemed every aviator in Gloucestershire was descending  upon the airfield to get their fix.

I battled through the congestion and found my instructor who, with some haste, told me that we’d be flying Alpha Papa today and it was sat out on the apron waiting to be checked. I quickly gathered my things and headed out to the aircraft. As I left the hangar and stepped out onto the tarmac, I was amazed at how many aircraft there were buzzing around. It was absolutely fantastic to see all sorts of aviators and their flying machines taxing towards today’s active runway. There were so many aircraft around I wasn’t able to hear the stall warner from outside the aircraft when doing the A check, and it was a good ten minutes before I found a break in the traffic to test it.

With the door locked and latched, harnesses tight and secure, I followed through the PA28′s checklist, got the engine started, called for taxi, and took the aircraft out towards the pumps. This was the first of two lessons I’d have today, and we’d be using the same aircraft for both slots. Loaded with fuel, power checks complete, we were cleared for take off, which by now is entirely my responsibility. I set the throttle leaver to full power and steered the PA28 down the tarmac, where at 65 knots I pulled back and the aircraft climbed away.

The first hour passed quicker than most, primarily due to the sheer number of aircraft that were in the sky. The radio chatter was constant and everything I was reminded of those damp dismal days when I was flying the only aircraft in the circuit. Today, however, there were roughly five aircraft in the pattern at any one time. After a few manic circuits, the wind changed direction and with it so did the active runway and all of the landmarks I’d been using to help navigate. Regardless, I was quickly attempting a landing without any flaps whatsoever as an injection of something new into the circuits I’d been doing recently.

It was interesting to see how the PA28 handled as it glided over the aerodrome boundary at 70 knots without any flaps. Without the flaps causing drag the aircraft floated much further down the runway, slowly losing speed and altitude until the wheels finally touched the tarmac. A quick run on the tarmac at full power was all that was required to get the aircraft back up into the sky.

After landing, I took the aircraft back to the hangar so we could grab a quick cup of tea and a slice of cake. After which we were back in the aircraft and shortly after were cleared for take off, so I firewalled the throttle and took the PA28 back into the air yet again.

The circuit was very busy, with up to six aircraft buzzing around at the same time, which kept the airwaves busy with near constant radio chatter between controllers and pilots. I managed about six circuits, including two aborted landings before calling it a day. It was great to finally try some flapless landings, as well as practising airmanship in a busy circuit. Today was by far the most fun I’ve had in the circuit yet. If I could afford more back-to-back lessons, I’d definitely book them. I found the extra hour to incredible beneficial.

Papa Alpha cleared to land, runway 27, wind is 330 at 5 knots

I’ve had just over ten hours of instructed flight so far, and for each of those hours spent in the sky, I estimate I’ve spent nearly four times that revising. Written examinations may not be as glamorous or as exciting as actually flying, but they’re still an essential and integral part of the Private Pilot License course, and you should expect to do a lot of them.

I’m currently revising for my Air Law exam, whose subject simply couldn’t be any further away from the romantic image I associate with the freedom of unrestricted flight. Air Law covers the rules and regulations associated with general aviation in the UK. However dull the subject may appear, it’s absolutely essential for pilot’s to understand the rules and regulations in order to keep aviation as safe and efficient as possible. Air Law constitutes many different topics, such as:

• Division of Airspace and Air Traffic Services
• Aircraft Registration and Airworthiness
• JAA/EASA Regulations
• Operation of Aircraft
• Search and Rescue
• Accident and Investigation
• Noise Abatement
• Communications
• Emergency Procedures

Pilots are expected to know and abide by the law, and in order to do that they must first learn it. As I mentioned previously, I currently have a total of just over ten hours flight time, yet I’ve spent approximately forty hours studying, and I expect this ratio to be skewed even further in favour of revision as my exam date gets closer. In an attempt to help me remember the abundance of rules and regulations, I’ve been reading through two textbooks:

• Air Law, Operational Procedures, Communications
• Private Pilot’s Licence Course Question and Answer Simplifier

Both books are written by Jeremy Pratt, and I highly recommend both of them. I find the mock exam papers within the Q&A Simplifier to be absolutely vital. As well as reading most lunchtimes at work, I’ve taken to creating abridged versions of specific subjects (enough for them to fit on a single Post-It note) which I stick to my monitors both at work and at home. I find that by reducing a bulk of text into easy-to-read Post-It note that’s stuck to the left and right of my gaze eight hours a day works as an excellent revision aid.

Post-It revision notes

Finally, I’ve an “Artist’s Sketch Book” from Daler Rowney which contains thick cartridge paper pages that allow me to jot revision notes and sometimes sketch important diagrams in thick pen without having the ink permeate through to the overleaf page. Any time I stumble across something I deem to be important or hard to remember, I spend some time adding it to my sketch book. As well as Air Law revision topics, I add all sorts of information, such as climb performance statistics and any useful in-flight formulas I deem to be useful.

Revision Notes: Ground-to-Air Visual Signals

If anyone else has any useful revision tactics or tips for remembering various topics, I’d love to hear them.

I wasn’t able to log as many hours as I would’ve liked in December thanks to poor-weather conditions (plenty of snow) and, of course, Christmas. This weekend seemed to take forever to come around, and when it finally did, I wasn’t sure whether I’d even get to fly because visibility was poor.

Regardless, I headed over to the airfield where my instructor explained to me the weather situation, making it quite clear that while conditions overhead were within VMC, they weren’t brilliant for aviation. Regardless, I wanted to have a go and get off the ground. So, after a quick classroom session, we headed out to the aircraft, ran through the checklists, and headed off into the grey.

While extending downwind and looking across towards the airfield, it was obvious that this lesson wouldn’t last long because the visibility was absolutely awful. The wind conditions were calm, and the temperature at 1,000ft was hovering just above zero, but it felt a lot colder (even with the heaters on in the cockpit).

Runway 27, EGBJ

I hadn’t flown for a month, and I really felt it during this lesson. To make things worse, the cloudy conditions over Gloucestershire made it difficult for me to rely upon the familiar ground visual clues I’d gotten so used to. I found myself keeping in too tight to the runway while extending downwind, and overcompensating for the turns onto final from base. My instructor wasn’t joking when he said the conditions today would be challenging!

After only four circuits it was time to call it quits. The weather was deteriorating yet more, pushing conditions close to VMC minimums. I brought the aircraft in and landed on runway 27 before taxing back to the hangar, logging just 0.8 hours in my logbook. Despite this, the lesson wasn’t a complete waste. I still logged some flight time (better than none) and I experienced what it’s like flying through worsening conditions. Overall, not my most memorable flying lesson, but definitely one of the more sobering ones. I hope the next lesson sees some better weather.

During my training I’ve collected various items that’ve found themselves a permanent home in my humble flight bag. I’ve decided to give a brief overview of what I’m currently carrying at this stage in my training.

After about my fifth flying lesson my instructor suggested that I buy myself a flight bag to help me carry all of the kit I’d accumulated. He mentioned that, while you can spend money on an official pilot’s bag – any old laptop bag would fit the purpose adequately without the price tag. Acting on his advice, I picked up a 15.6″ Technika laptop bag from Tesco for the sum of £14.97. The bag holds all of my kit adequately.

To reiterate the above annotation, I’m currently carrying:

• A high visibility jacket that was given to me for free from a good friend working in the construction industry. These jackets are especially important when walking around a busy airfield chock full of manoeuvring aircraft.
• My homemade kneeboard which began life as an A4 clipboard that I purchased from Staples for about £3.
• Log Book, which is essential for logging each and every flight
• A copy of Jeremy M. Pratt’s Flying Training (The Private Pilot’s License Course) book that contains the exercises I’m working through, both in the air and on the ground.
• A folder containing my CAA approved Class 2 Medical Certificate and any other important documents directly related to me and my training course.

The bag also contains a reverse pocket which I use to keep my “frequently used” items:

These items include my notebooks which I use to make notes during ground school and while in the cockpit. They’re simple horizontally ruled A5 “Pukka Pads” from Tesco which cost less than £3 each. Accompanying them is my PA28-161 Warrior checklist which is invaluable. It’s one of the most important things that I carry because of the information printed on it, such as engine startup & shutdown procedures, as well as emergency information, pre/post landing checks, etc.

Finally, my headset. I went to the Trainsair Pilot Shop at Gloucestershire Airport just before Christmas where I tried on various headsets before settling on a David Clark Model H10-60 headset.

I spent a lot of time discussing headsets with the store clerk, who showed me various other models, such as the Sennheiser and Bose headsets, each with their own pros and cons. However, I decided to invest in the David Clark H10-60 because it had a very flexible and easily manoeuvrable microphone boom, as well as many replaceable parts (such as the headpad and ear seals), a good guarantee, and various accessories available, such as stop gap seals (for wearing sunglasses comfortably with the headset).

So there you have it, the contents of my flight bag at this current moment. This is by no way a recommended list of items, nor is it everything you could possibly need; it’s simply the kit I’ve accumulated thus far.

Some items not mentioned above include my thermal gloves, a brand new Canon IXUS 130 and the fantastic Uniden UBC72XLT.

Think I’ve missed something or want to share some of your own kit recommendations? Please, feel free to leave a comment. Happy landings!

Another Saturday of circuit flying, however, today I’d be flying my favourite aircraft: Romeo Oscar. There’s something really special about this aircraft that makes it such a pleasure to fly. The last time I flew it, I was at 5,000ft over the Malvern hills, which was a really great flight. Conditions today were overcast with a calm breeze. Not ideal for touring but cloud level would permit circuit flights without any issue.

I took this photo a few weeks ago of a fellow student taking RO out

The lesson began, as always, in the classroom discussing various stages of circuit flight to ensure I was comfortable with the entire process. As suggested by my instructor, I’d been working hard memorising my pre-landing checklist, going over and over it in my mind to make sure I had it committed to memory. To aid this process I wrote the mnemonic on a post-it note and stuck it just below my monitor on my desk at work. At various times throughout the day I’d glance at the post-it note and attempt to recall each check in my mind. I found this really helped me memorise all of my checks, and I’ll definitely be using it for other mnemonics I need to remember throughout my training.

Classroom session over and we were back in the aircraft, I called ATC, positioned on the runway, firewalled the throttle and steered my PA28 down runway 27 before rotating back into the air again. The town of Churchdown in Gloucestershire sits at the end of the runway, and as part of the noise abatement regulation at EGBJ, aircraft taking off are required to make a right-hand adjustment of approximately 15 degrees to avoid flying over the town, which I did on all of my take offs.

This lesson was very similar to my previous circuit lesson with one deviation: aborted landings. Of the six landing attempts I made, I was forced to abort two of them. Not because of poor approaches, but due to traffic on the runway ahead of me. The circuit was rather busy and I was flying the aircraft third in the queue to land. As I turned the aircraft onto final, lined up with the centre line, where  I could clearly see an aircraft also on final in front just about to touch the tarmac. At this point I was a mile from the runway, approaching at roughly 75 knots with an altitude of 900ft and descending. Erring on the side of caution my instructor and I decided that a go-around was necessary.

We’d not discussed these in depth, so I was very unprepared. However, my instructor talked me through the entire process. Roll the aircraft off of the runway heading and proceed down the dead-side of the runway, while applying full throttle, flicking the carp heat off, immediately raising the drag flap, and waiting for a positive rate of climb. As the aircraft climbed to over 300ft I was instructed to raise the other two stages of flaps progressively so as not to unsettle the aircraft. It was then important to watch for any traffic departing on the below runway before rolling back onto the noise abatement heading and joining the circuit again on the downwind leg to have another go.

It was a fantastic sign of progress being able to competently control the aircraft as instructed without too much hesitation. Familiarisation with the PA28′s flight controls and avionics allowed me to comply to my instructor’s instructions in a confident and timely mannor, which felt fantastic. Of the six landings I attempted today, I had to abort two, leaving the other four which I felt were of varying quality. I’m still getting to grips with flaring the aircraft at the correct point, as well as how best to calibrate the aircraft ready for immediate take off (touch and go), but I’m feeling much more confident sitting in the left hand seat and flying the aircraft.

Today was my second lesson flying the circuit and conditions were quite different to my first induction to circuit flying. The wind today was blowing much stronger than it had been previously, and the sky was a pale grey colour with thick cloud ceiling at approximately 2,100ft waiting to deposit sleet onto Gloucestershire at any moment. An icy wind blowing north north-east brought a cold front over the UK causing all sorts of snow/ice related havoc across the UK.

I’m constantly learning new things about aviation, even when I’m not in the air. What I learned today was a hard lesson in dressing appropriately for the conditions. Today, I’d not thought ahead about packing a pair of gloves – a big mistake! Before each flight I work through my checklist, which involves making many checks to the exterior of the aircraft. Usually, this is quite a pleasant experience, until the wind is blowing strong, making the windchill temperature something far below zero! By the time I’d finished my exterior checks and moved into the cockpit to finish the checks my fingers were numb. Suffice it to say, the newest addition to my flight gear is a pair of super warm skiing gloves.

After finishing the checks, heading inside for a discussion with my instructor, and heading back outside to take to the air, we discovered a tiny problem with the aircraft’s engine when attempting to start it, and exercising extreme caution we decided to retire the aircraft to the hangar for an inspection. My instructor disappeared back into the training school to book out another one of the club’s aircraft before reappearing again to ask me to begin checking G-GFCA. Which of course I did, again, without any gloves. By the time I’d finished checking Charlie Alpha my hands were again totally numb. Brilliant.

Charlie Alpha on the tarmac at Aeros (the first aircraft I ever flew)

The engine was running smoothly as I finished my checklist and prepared to make my first ever radio call. My instructor was patient as I practiced a few times before holding down the transmit button on the yoke and said:

“Gloucester Tower, Foxtrott Tango five three at Aeros, information echo, QNH 1001, request permission to taxi, over.”

Done. My first ever radio broadcast. Now into the air. The north-easterly wind meant we’d be using RW04 — a runway I’ve never used before. In the map below it’s the runway pointing north north-east.

I got the PA28 into the air and flew the left hand pattern as instructed to. With reports of snow across the country, I was rather disappointed that there wasn’t any snow at all over Gloucestershire when I was in the air. To make up for this, the pattern we were flying took me over Gloucester where (up to) three times a week for the past ten years I’ve played skater hockey. It was fantastic to see a place that I know so well from the air, and how this changes my perspective every time I do so.

Charlie Alpha on base leg with EGBJ visible in the top-left

I managed seven landings in total. Of these landings, I feel particularly happy with one or two of them. The other landings weren’t necessarily poor landings, but they weren’t great. Regardless, my forever forgiving PA28 happily climbed back into the air after each.

Two hours in the circuit, and two more lessons already booked and paid for, my tenth hour in the sky isn’t far away, nor is my Air Law exam, and most significantly: my first solo flight, which is creeping ever closer. Despite this, after each landing I feel more prepared for the solo flight. I’ve transitioned from utter and complete fear to substancial fear, with an element of excitement and enthusiasm. Progress; it feels great.