Finishing off the IMC course Today was hopefully to be the last IMC training flight. I needed a further 1 hour 40 minutes of dual instruction to complete the minimum 15 hours required. Of this 10 hours must be “under the hood”, which I’d already satisfied. I’d also passed the theory test in April. Wind blowing the wrong way The wind from the North East meant that runway 06 was
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IMC Training Day #7
After a three week gap, the availability of good weather, aircraft and instructor all aligned and I was again in the air with foggles to obscure the view. Practicing Scales With a view to improving my accuracy when on instruments, Ian had me alternately climbing and descending. Each time we reached FL30 we’d climb and then at FL40 we’d descend. At the same time, he asked me to turn (Rate
Continue readingLearning a new aircraft – the Robin HR200/100S
Rescued from a complete washout The Bank Holiday weekend had been pretty much of a washout. I’d planned my first foreign trip (to Le Touquet) and also another shorter trip with passengers – both had to be cancelled. Unusually, on the following Saturday I had a further full weekend day free to go flying! I thought I’d plan a longer trip and was hoping to reschedule the postponed Le Touquet
Continue readingHow to get a US FAA PPL Licence based on your UK PPL
[Last updated March 2023] Hiring a car when abroad When travelling abroad, you can easily walk into a car hire office and drive off in minutes. All you need is a current driving licence from your home country and a credit card. There’s no need to pass any theory tests, prove that you understand the local traffic laws or even have done any driving recently. But any restrictions on your
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Seaplane Adventure
I had a business trip booked to a conference in Florida, with the possibility of taking some time off, I looked at what possibilities for flying there might offer. I’ve been the US many times on business before, but rarely able to do something extra. Floatplane One option suggested was to fly a floatplane (or seaplane) around the lakes of Florida. I was lucky enough to be able to fit
Continue readingIMC Training Day #6
Would the weather wash out the evening’s session? The rain was lashing down as I left to drive to Lyneham for this evenings IMC training sortie. Would the weather postpone today’s session? Fortunately not – the rain had stopped by the time I arrived, and the forecast was reasonably good. It did mean that Ian, my instructor, could discuss what kind of weather limits would apply to an IMC rated
Continue readingIMC Training Day #5
Another new IMC instructor In order to continue my IMC training, I’d had to arrange for different instructor to take over because neither Roger nor Mike were available. With 9 of the minimum 15 hours completed, I was keen to find a way to finish the course off before the flying club moved out of their Lyneham base in July. With other members also becoming more focussed because of the
Continue readingCrosswind Landing Practice and signoff
A Great Day for crosswind landing practice You couldn’t have asked for better conditions to practice crosswind landings. Sunny, with great visibility, scattered clouds at 3500 feet, but a strong and steady southerly wind of 18 gusting 25. Fortunate indeed, because I’d arranged for Tony, one of the instructors at Lyneham, to help me sort out my crosswind landing technique. The club have a rule that requires instructors to sign
Continue readingIMC Training Day #4
Another day’s holiday, nice warm weather and I’m off to the airfield for another couple of IMC sessions, again with Roger as instructor. NDB Holds On the ground, we talked through the NDB Hold. It’s not normally required during the exam, although if ATC require you to do one because they need you to stay out of the way, then you would be expected to do it. But I think
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Solo to Sanddown, Isle of Wight
A solo landaway to Sandown With my IMC course being delayed due to lack of instructor availability, I thought I’d make best use of the holiday I’d taken off work combined with good weather to enjoy a solo landaway. I booked G-VICC which I’d been learning the IMC course on for a few hours, but was asked to swap to G-ELUE because a problem with a faulty press-to-talk button on
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