UK Instrument Rated Private Pilot and Instrument Flight Instructor
Yippee! Passed the (laborious) IR Theory Exams Today I received a big white envelope from the CAA with the results of my last set of IR Theory exams. I’ve now passed the lot (all 7) and am qualified through to the next stage, ready to start the IR practical flight training which must be completed within 36 months (or I have to resit them all again). The Instrument Rating is
Continue readingA Proper Expedition Enough of short bimbles and day trip landaways – this was to be my first longer multi-day outing, grandly titled the Club Expedition to Scotland. Enticed by the long list of free landing vouchers in Flyer Magazine, one of the club instructors advertised a long weekend flyout which attracted strong interest. We ended up with 12 pilots sharing 4 aircraft (3 Warriors and 1 Arrow), departing from
Continue readingI flew from Kemble to Coventry in the Arrow for a fly-in, attending a meeting of PPL/IR. The flight there and back were both pretty routine (and VFR), but with some 40 aircraft arriving and departing in a short space of time, it did get quite busy. Rusty on some of the full ATC phrases I aimed to arrive around 10:30, one of the last slots, and so there was
Continue readingA really cold month It’s been a cold March – one of the coldest on record – with heavy snow affecting many parts of the UK. The forecast for the Easter Weekend at the end of the month looked fairly stable – quite cold, cloudbase of 2,000 to 4,000 feet, little chance of rain (or snow), an Easterly wind of about 10-15 knots. Not ideal, but OK for a short
Continue readingAfter a period of prolonged bad weather and cancelled flying opportunities, both Andy and I were keen to find a way to get a good trip in. We both negotiated to be able to take a day off work at short notice and looked for a gap in the weather. Today looked the best day with good visibility and low winds, so the plan was put into effect. After a
Continue readingManchester City (Barton) Airport Approaching Manchester City (Barton) airport requires GA pilots to fly between Manchester International and Liverpool commercial airports via the low-level corridor. This is a tunnel of airspace just 1300 feet high and 4 nautical miles wide, funnelling traffic to keep it out of the way of the large passenger jets landing and taking off. It’s an obvious route for me to take if heading further north
Continue readingAnother blustery day – but with crosswind today Although cold, the sun was out today, making it appear by far the best day for flying all week. However, as with the previous weekend, the wind was strong and blustery but had more of a crosswind component. After a few phone calls and swapping around, it was agreed that Dave and I would each fly a short currency check flight with
Continue readingA break in the poor January flying weather January’s weather has been very poor for flying, with Cotswold Airport (which we still call Kemble among ourselves) NOTAM’d closed during the snow and ice on the runway and taxiways. Warmer weather and heavy rain washed this away overnight, leaving what seemed like good conditions for Sunday morning. The only concern was strong winds, but at least these were blowing down the
Continue reading
It’s been another great year for flying, and I’m lucky to have been able to do so much. The weather hasn’t been that great, but we’ve had some very good flights, met some great people and visited many new destinations. I made fewer flights, and had less flight time than last year, partly due to spending a lot of time gaining the IMC rating during 2011. My objectives from the
Continue readingA challenge just to get into Kemble airfield Few pilots were flying today, despite it having the better weather forecast for the week. Rain seems to have featured strongly for some time, with parts of the country flooded including some peoples homes. Today was a late decision based on a combination of weather forecast and family commitments. It wasn’t a certainty that I’d even make a flight. The road into
Continue reading