FlyerDavidUK

8th May 2011 Training Received

Crosswind 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

28th April 2011 IMC Rating / Training Received

IMC 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

27th April 2011 Landaways / solo

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

26th April 2011 IMC Rating / Training Received

IMC training day #3

Today I had a different instructor, Roger, who briefed me on the next stage of the training. This would reinforce what I’d learnt so far, develop the ADF tracking and try other types of instrument approach (which should be available today because it was not the weekend or holiday period). Roger marked the paper I had sat the previous day and was pleased to report I had passed. Since the

25th April 2011 IMC Rating / Training Received

IMC training day #2

After the previous day’s good progress, I was again at the club before 9am ready to go. Mike had another student and we agreed to take it in turns so that we both got two sessions in during the day with a gap in between. Partial Panel This involves simulating the effect of the vacuum pump failing – it drives the Attitude Indicator and Direction Indicator. Rubber covers were placed

23rd April 2011 IMC Rating / Training Received

IMC Training Day 1

A wonderful warm and sunny day and a holiday too. Ideal for being out in the garden, or in the park or at the beach. Me, I’m stuck inside a hot and bumpy aircraft wearing a lampshade so I can’t see out. Must be mad. Lesson 1 Today was the start of my intensive IMC course at Lyneham. Turned up at 8:30 (me, keen, never…) for a 9am start, and

22nd April 2011 IMC Rating

Starting the practical IMC course

My practical course is scheduled to run over the Easter and Bank holiday week. It will be quite intensive, with two instructors at different times. Hopefully the weather and aircraft technical issues won’t cause any issues. I intended to try and complete the course over the extended week, hoping that immersion in the subject and continuity should help keep me focussed. I’d booked up a fair number of slots for

22nd April 2011 Landaways

My first Farm Strip

The opportunity One of the more experienced club members used to have share in a plane at a small farm strip near Aylesbury. He’d not been back there for several years, but still kept in touch and was planning a landaway to visit there again. I’d already had a landaway with him to White Waltham, and was more than happy when he asked me along. He would fly there and

21st April 2011 IMC Rating

IMC Rating Theory

The UK PPL IMC Rating is quite an old qualification, having been introduced sometime around the late 1960’s. Little seems to have changed. It relies on older navigation instruments rather than GPS, but perhaps this is a good thing because GPS can fail. I’ve had this happen a long time ago on a sailing trip across the English Channel, falling back on dead-reckoning and the Mark 1 eyeball to pick

19th April 2011 Night / solo

Solo night flight from Lyneham

After my successful familiarisation night flight the previous week, I thought the next step to consolidate this would be to take a short solo local flight one evening after work. With sunset around 8pm local, official night starts at 8:30. I could get to the airfield by 7:30, so planned to fly from 8 till 9. This would be similar to a late return from a landaway, and mean I