Intro. Flt - 40mins €76.00
Lesson 1 - 50 mins €87.50
Lesson 2 - 70 mins €112.50
Lesson 3 - 80 mins €125.00
Lesson 4 - 70 mins €112.50
Lesson 5 - 45 mins €75.00
Lesson 6 - 70 mins €125.00
Lesson 7 - 60 mins €100.00
Lesson 8 - 75 mins €137.50
Lesson 9 - 55 mins €87.50
Lesson 10 - 50 mins €87.50
Lesson 11 - 40 mins €75.00
Lesson 12 - 40 mins €75.00
Lesson 13 - 55 mins €112.50
Lesson 14 - 30 mins €65.00
Introductory Flight 24/6/02 Total Hours: 0:40
My first flying lesson! I arrived at Weston Aerodrome, home of Weston Flying School. I wasn't waiting very long but I did get a chance to have a look around. There must have been around 20-30 planes outside the clubhouse and perhaps another 10-12 helicopters.
I went up in a Socata TB-9 Tampico. This turns out after some research to be the same type of plane which Al-Qaeda operatives in America wanted to buy to use as trainers. Don't tell Weston Flying School that, I suppose! The TB9 Tampico is a French plane designed as a trainer. It first went into production in 1977.
Back to the lesson. I do not have to pay for lessons in advance and a 40-minute lesson is more common than an hour. 40 minutes would for example only cost 90 euros. This lesson was 30 minutes and cost 76 euros.
I had a little trouble hearing everything coming over the headset but I will adjust the volume and I'm sure I will get used to it.I got to take the controls once we had climbed to about 1,000ft. This is still uncontrolled class 'g' airspace. For more information on airspace see my section on flying in Ireland. I practised turns mostly, at 30 and 45 degrees. Already I know I need to look up and around more and not down at the instruments. This is what's known as VFR (Visual Flight Rules) flying. I asked my instructor, Jim, a few questions about the plane and flying and we headed back, landing as we took off of course, into the wind.
I tried to remember the things he did pre-flight, taxiing and post-flight because I think a lot of this will become my responsibility pretty soon. I'll try and recall some of them. Check fuel in each wing, check all surface controls ailerons, elavator, rudder, check brake discs and nosewheel, check struts, prop, pitot and static vent, check doors and harness(es) are locked and secure, check instruments and radio are working, check your p' and t's (pressures and temperatures) set mixture to rich, flaps up for takeoff, check magnetos(2 plugs per cylinder), watch for RPM drop, set the altimeter to zero, set the bearing indicator(is that what it's called?) which is set by the magnetic compass check visually and orally for any planes on or about to be on final approach and get the clear for takeoff. There are quite a few more and probably very important ones that I've left out but thankfully a lot of the pre-flight checks are written down on a kneeboard card which is slightly different for each plane. Post-flight I don't remember much as I had too much time enjoying myself!
Stall speed which is really defined by angle of attack (AOA) in this plane is around 50kts. Takeoff is around 60kts climbing away when it reaches 75kts, I believe these planes have a 160bhp Continental engine and climb at around 750ft/min. These aren't exact figure for the plane I was in (I don't know these yet!) just ones I got from the Internet.
Anyhow it all seemed to be over very quickly and I can't wait to get out there again! My instructor was quite new, he had only been at it a few months. He seemed interested that I was building a plane and asked me a few questions about it. The sky's the limit now! Well, perhaps the bank balance too!
Friday 28/06/02
Well a lot has happened in the last few days. I have been comparing ppl training in Ireland with overseas both in terms of cost and the training itself. As I said in the last entry ppl courses in Ireland cost the best part of €7,000. It turns out that getting your ppl is far, far cheaper in countries like USA, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. So, is Ireland just ripping us off? Well, not exactly. The main reasons why it is so much cheaper is:
1. You are paying for your complete training upfront.
2. The cost of fuel is cheaper (cf. €1.51 per litre here with 50c in America)
3. The number of hours is sometimes less (40 hrs instead of 45 in South Africa)
The school that I have chosen will get you your ppl license for €3,110 about €3,500 cheaper than in Ireland! This price includes 4 weeks B + B accommodation, all license fees, 45 hours training in a C152, ground school, books, equipment and all exams. The only things it doesn’t include is your living expenses, medical and your flight. Of course it is also possible to fit in excursions, safaris etc. if you wish too.
Now some people who were trained here might argue that it is going to cost you to convert your license to JAA when you get back. This is true to an extent. When you complete the course you will be given a SA PPL license. This can be used here in Europe once you have done a checkride with your local flying school/aero club. You can then hire away just like everyone else. The license is valid for 12 months. At the end of this time you then have the option of converting it to a JAA one but is it really necessary? They also recommend on these JAA-approved overseas courses that due to the intensive nature of the training that you either pass all your written exams before you go or at the least have studied for them because you will sit three of them as soon as you arrive.
Even when you take in the added costs of buying the pilot manuals, sitting the exams, the medical and the flight and living expenses it still amounts to a considerable saving over learning in Ireland.
A rough estimate on the extra costs over the €3,110 figure then are :
Return flight to Johannnesburg €600
Return bus to Port Elizabeth € 40
Medical in South Africa €150
Living Expenses (4 weeks) €500(minimum)
Total: €4,400 or saving around €2,200!!
This figure might even be lower as the price is for 45 hours and I have already been told that if you pass after 40 hours and therefore don’t require the last 5 hours then it is refunded to you. This course is 4 weeks in Port Elizabeth and based at its main airport so I will be mixing it with the big boys which can only amount to good training.
Another question that I had to decide was when to go? Firstly their records show that they fly on average 330 days a year so the chances of being rained out during the four weeks is very unlikely. However the worst time of the year is May-June which is too soon for me anyway. I have chosen December as a tentative date. Watch this space!
Thursday 22/08/02
Well, have been doing a lot of thinking and not much action it would seem however have decided for a number of reasons that I might just be better off learning to fly in Ireland after all! A small flying club in the midlands has got rates that are attractive enough to keep me here. As I stated it would cost around €4,400 to learn in SA. This flying school will cost me around €1,000 more. This is because over the last two months I have been reading and buying the Trevor Thom Series of flying manuals which are a considerable cost in themselves and coupled with not having to pay for a flight to Joburg (€600 minimum) and living expenses (€500) for four weeks means that I will be able to get my PPL for around €5,500. I have bought also a 1:500,000 aeronautical chart of Ireland also for €11 and am about to get a CRP-1 flight computer so that I can practice using it with the map. There is also the fact that there are many navigational and meteorological things that are different or opposite in the southern hemisphere which may be easy to pick up if you are already a qualified pilot but I think will just be an unwanted burden if I go down there. As will the written exams. As I have said the radiotelephony is slightly diffrent and so to the airspace so I will have to sit those two exams r/t and aviation law again. Lastly by learning in Ireland I will get a good understanding and foundation in the areas I will be flying in (Europe too hopefully) and the contacts etc. that go with learning here. The club has a good social calendar too!
Flying takes place mostly on weekends and also during the week by prior arrangement and prices include instruction. Ground school is in Dublin too which is handy. There is a joining fee of €55 and membership is €200p.a. but I don't have to pay this until January. I think too that if you are going to fly then there is no point in trying to do everything in four weeks unless perhaps it is a rating or something like that. I will save the money and pay my fees and first lesson hopefully in 2 weeks or so.
Lesson 1: Sunday 30th Sept 2002 Total Hours: 1:30
As well as joining this club I have put my name on a waiting list at a club in Dublin Airport. This will allow me like when you learn to drive or anything really to practise in airspace where I am more or less on my own and can concentrate on getting the basics right at first. Then later when I am ready I can join the club at Dublin Airport and get used to more involved traffic and R/T flying conditions.
My first lesson was with Carmel. The weather was closing in but I managed to get 50mins flying in late afternoon.
The plane I am now learning in is a Cessna 150 Aerobat. The first time I saw the harness I thought it was complicated but really it is easy. Carmel showed me pre-flight checks for the first time. She checked the fuel in both wings and at the main drain point under the engine. It seems that some people when testing fuel fill their tester to the top which as was explained to me is not necessary. Fuel checks are necessary on the first flight of the day or after having been refuelled. Fuel can sometimes get contaminated with water and dust and grit which if any of this gets into the engine could cause an engine failure. The grit is easy to see in the clear plastic tester and the water being heavier than the fuel will separate and sink to the bottom. Therefore the drain points are at the bottom-most point of the tank. As the fuel pipe is not quite at the bottom there is always a small amount of unusable fuel in the tank. Water can form if left overnight with tanks that are not full. Condensation forms on the inside of the tank wall and mixes with the fuel. Some clubs make a habit of fueling the tanks to the top at the end of the day to prevent this as much as possible.
The rest of the pre-flight checks are rather straightforward. Check the pitot tube that the cover is not on and is not blocked. Carmel taught me that if you blow across the opening the sound you hear will tell you if anything is blocking it inside. It’s rather like blowing across the neck of a bottle where the sound changes if the bottle is full(blocked) or not(clear). Check the static vent that it is not blocked also. Check all your primary flight controls(elevator, rudder and ailerons) that they have full and free movement. Check fuselage for any cracks, popped rivets etc. Check wheel brakes for any hydraulic fluid leaks, loose bolts or anything that appears shoddy. Check tyre for creep(caused when the wheels touch the ground). There is a mark on both the wheel hub and tyre. It is considered satisfactory if the marks still touch each other. If not then you should have an engineer take a look at it. Check the nosewheel that the oleo strut is adequately placed and check again for any fluid leaks or loose bolts. Check the propeller for any nicks or cracks and remember to treat it as if it was live. Open the engine cover and check your oil placing the cap firmly back on. Also although it wasn’t a problem for this lesson you would also check that there is nothing on the wings, tail or fuselage that would cause the plane to fly with poor aerodynamics such as ice, frost or any other buildup.
Once inside the plane we did our pre-engine start check also. It is important that you do not try to memorise the checklists inside the plane. In fact in a commercial operation it is something that you would get your knuckles rapped over. This is because the human memory is not perfect and as these are vital and numerous checks and are different for every aircraft you must use the checklists. The kind of things involved here I outlined briefly before in the introductory flight entry so I won’t go over these again. I adjusted myself for comfort to allow my heels to touch the floor and to feel secure in my harness. We taxied and I learnt that you only need use the brakes and throttle together for taxiing in tight places (like at the end of the runway you have just backtracked). As we had already done on our engine checks at the taxiway holding point while waiting for another plane to land we radioed our intention to takeoff and gave it full throttle. The planes takeoff speed is 60knots but she will takeoff slightly before this as the airspeed indicator(a pressure instrument) takes a little while to catch up. The runway at this airfield is tarmac, 800m long and there was a good wind blowing(albeit with a high crosswind factor) so takeoff distance was never a problem. Once in the air Carmel radioed that we were leaving the circuit and would call on return. She showed me like I had done in the introductory flight how the primary flight controls worked and let me turn onto headings. She outlined the basic reference points for visual navigation in the area and let me get a feel for the plane. We flew at around 2000 feet on the QFE (190ft amsl) and the clouds were still well above us so the ceiling must have been around 3000ft or more which is good for Ireland I think. After being told that if I kept flying on this direction I would end up in Northern Ireland she told me to turn onto a new heading and we headed for home. Carmel touched down about a third down the runway and parked the plane. I handed over my money(50 mins €87.50) and joining fees (only €55 here!). My log book now has its first (well second if you count the intro flight) entry and gets logged as 50mins although the ATD and ATA is actually only 45mins the actual flight is measured from engine start to engine cut-off.
Lesson 2: Saturday 5th October 2002 (Total Hours 2:40)
Well another great days flying! My instructor was John today. He explained the secondary controls of the plane, viz. carburettor heat, throttle and flaps. (We didn’t cover mixture.) I got to have a go at taxying the plane too and found this was in fact easier than I had thought. Toe brakes are quite sensitive. The rudder pedals not quite so. I had to move them more than I thought I would. In the air however they are more sensitive. Obviously this is because of the enhanced airflow over the tail from the propeller and the faster airflow in general. I will need more practise at the trim wheel though it is too easy to try to fly the plane instead of using it to relieve the pressure.
Cruise is around 85 knots. With 10 degrees of flap this drops to 75, 20 degrees it drops to 65, 30 degrees 55 and full flap 45 knots. As the flap is both lowered and raised in stages it means trim is adjusted each time. After I had some more practise with the primary and secondary controls John got me to put the plane into a steady descent and cheekily (as there were no other planes in the circuit) we came in on base leg (instead of coming overhead the field). Circuit height is 800ft agl and John got me to lower the stages of flap for him before landing it himself. I taxied the plane off the runway and parked it outside the fuel bowser.
I also got to meet Angelo Cunningham the CFI. He runs a ground school in Dublin for 3 months at a cost of €480. This is quite high but he is regarded as one of the best by all accounts. He is an airline pilot and puts safety first as do all the instructors there. I also got to talk to a student pilot there who just happens to be an AME and he offered to give me a reduction on the Class 2 medical which is something I wasn’t expecting. (especially a doctor!)
As I had some time on my hands after my lesson I watched some of the other happenings going on. Firstly I got to meet and watch David Bruton (the aerodrome owner) in his Extra 200. He owns a few planes (He either owns or used to own the club Aerobat I’m learning in.) There is also a Yak (Russian Aerobatic Trainer) based at the field and flown by a Czech pilot. My instructor also went up and did some aerobatics in EI-CTI. I’ll have no problem practising stalls and spins in it then!
There are in fact 6 clubs based at the field and a qualified aircraft engineer. There is even a Zenith made plane here! I bought the latest Fly-In Ireland recently released by AOPA which still has loads of errors in it! Getting a lift back to Edgeworthstown saved a bike journey (thanks Omar!) and I have to say this was a very worthwhile day’s outing!
Lesson 3: 12th October 2002 (Total Hours: 4:00)
This was my longest lesson so far. I mostly covered straight and level flight today. I also did my own pre-flight, pre-start, power, taxying, pre-take-off and shut-down checks under the supervision of course of my instructor. All of these checks are found in the pilot’s operating handbook which is always kept in the plane.
As normal I was given a pre-briefing, on straight and level flight in this case. This made my lesson 1 and a half hours long all told but I learnt a lot. I was allowed to handle a bit more of the takeoff and the climbout and kept the control of the plane more in training too. I feel I have vastly improved my trimming technique and I hope I keep it that way now.
We climbed to 2000 feet and practised a little while here. The cloud base was just above us and as it was getting a little bumpy to practise straight-and-level my instructor told me to climb above the cloud base. We found some clean air at around 3000 feet but there was a front slowly moving in and the classic advance stages of this low are towering cumulus which is what I saw in front of me a lot at this height. There was still enough ‘holes’ in the cloud and we were in a kind of lane of cloudless sky.
During this time I got to have a go at climbing turns and descending turns as well as s & l. As it came near the end of the lesson I then got to have a lot more to do with the descent and landing. This was of course under my instructors instructions and corrections but still I felt a bit more responsible.
My First Descent and Approach to land
First of all I put the plane onto a heading for the aerodrome. Then I commenced a gradual descent of about 300 fpm. (My descent was a bit excessive when I started and the instructor had to tell me to bring it back to 300fpm.) We descended on the dead side and crossed the threshold of 28 at 800ft agl or circuit height. I should also mention I put in radio calls during the lesson (I just repeated the instructor’s words really!) and at this point the call was; “Tango-India crossing the threshold descending the dead side for runway 28”. The next step was to turn onto a heading parallel to 28 on the dead side. Maintaining 800 feet I looked out for any planes in the circuit throughout this landing. I turned 90 degrees then at about 45 degrees to the threshold of Rwy 10 and entered the circuit. Actually it must have been less than 90 degrees as I had not been working the rudder enough and had been doing a flat turn left on the parallel upwind leg. I then turned onto my downwind leg carried out my engine checks, put in my downwind radio call and turned onto my base leg. I checked for anybody on an extended centreline from the runway on final approach and seeing noone there I turned onto finals. I overshot this a bit and had to correct I lowered flap in stages trimming as I went (rather rushed but the instructor really is so calm!) and dropped height and speed as I did this. I needed to be at about 30% faster than the stall speed for landing and that means around 65 knots in this plane. I was drifting off the centreline and at about this stage the instructor took over the controls and put us in the roundout and flare for landing. Having touched down I practised some more taxying and we put in a radio call stating this intention as there were no other planes around at the time.
The lesson was at least 90 minutes in all(pre-brief, pre-flight checks) 80 mins for my logbook and the equivalent of one hour on the tacho as we were doing quite a bit of slow flight and taxying. I felt I was really beginning to progress now and can’t wait to be up again next weekend. Next week I will probably have yet another instructor but it is things like being timed on the tacho instead of purely by the hour, having plenty of time for the lesson and briefings, flying in airspace that allows you to worry less about other aircraft and height(very flat terrain!) and being able to use the runway without being rushed that makes flying in Ireland and in this club the right path for me.
Lesson 4:Saturday 19th October 2002 (Total Hours: 5:10)
I have been very lucky with the weather so far and I had another enjoyable days flying. I covered over straight and level flight again and tried it at different airspeeds. I also touched briefly on climbing and descending.
This was the first time I had been booked for the first flight of the day. I carried out my pre-flight checks and internal pre-flight checks. I started the aircraft and after a magneto check inadvertently switched the ignition switch to left. (more on this in a minute). After I had done the rest of my checks the instructor taxied the aircraft even though I had done it last time to the end of the runway and carried out pre-take-off checks. Interesting to note that when you have different instructors they all have their own order of things they will let you handle.
However when she did the carb heat check there was a huge drop in rpm. Obviously as it was a frost overnight and this being the first flight a lot of ice had formed up. It took about 10 minutes to clear the plane of ice! As carb heat air is unfiltered you should minimise the time it is open on the ground to reduce the chance of grit and dust getting into the engine. The magneto check also scared her. She said the plane had tried to cut out. I thought she was performing a dead cut check at the time. It was only after the flight that she explained to me what I had done. I wonder if she knew all along or only when we got back to the ground and shut down the plane.
I also met someone who will be able to give me a lift to the airfield on weekends and this will of course cut down the expense of taking the train and a bike.
Anyhow my straight and level has improved and I have learnt the need to double check any operation visually and not just by what seems right. Apparently one of the largest causes of accidents is misreading instruments and although it is not a problem in my training so far I’ll want to make sure I get it right every time as I progress.
I will take a break next weekend from flying and plan to also go midweek some time soon and take a couple of lessons in one day. I will have the airfield more or less to myself and will also get a longer pre-briefing and post-briefing as noone books much on weekdays.
Hope the weather holds out!
Lesson 5:Sunday 10th November 2002 (Total Hours: 5:55)
Well, my first flight in three weeks due to weather. In fact, I am hoping to go flying three or four times this week if the weather holds. Some clubs can only offer flying on weekends but mine can arrange it seven days a week. VFR is a lot shorter this time of the year and means weekends can be a bit harder to get a slot for. Carmel is now my main instructor and we covered climbing and descending.
I taxied down the runway and as there was a crosswind (my first, in fact!) Carmel told me to turn the control column into the wind. This holds the into-wind wing down as a strong crosswind could lift a wing. All the checks had been done before entering the runway and I got to takeoff as well. As our speed built up I centred the column and we climbed to 1,000ft QFE and left the circuit.
In a climb the thrust of the propeller, an aerofoil itself, provides some lift so that surprisingly lift by the wings is less than weight in a climb. Climbing is achieved with full power on the throttle, adopting the climb attitude (roughly bringing the coaming of the dashboard up to the horizon) and trimming off any pressures. In a climb you should clear the obstructed area beneath the nose by either lowering the nose or by making shallow turns left and right every 500ft or so. In a prolonged climb it is prudent to check the t’s and p’s as the flow of air over the engine is less than straight-and-level. Cowl flaps on some planes will redirect some of the airflow through the engine in order to cool it. As the slipstream striking the tail is increased because the propeller is at full power it is also necessary to balance the plane with the rudder. Maintain a steady climb airspeed with the elevator which for the Aerobat is around 70knots.
At the top of the climb you need to anticipate a little before you reach your desired altitude. There is a 10% rule that says if your ROC or indeed ROD is say 500ft/min then you need to start levelling out at 50ft before you reach your intended altitude. The throttle is brought back from full to cruise about 2200RPM and then when the airspeed has settled back then trimming out the load can be done. Trimming in case I haven’t said is not done in transitory manoeuvres such as turning which means you can trim in a climb but not if it is a climbing turn.
Descending is simply a matter of reducing the power back to about 1700RPM for my plane, remember to pull out the carb heat first, lower your pitch attitude(nose) to achieve a respectable ROD say 500ft/min at 70kts. Trim it out. Anticipate your levelling-off point by 10% of the ROD and put back on cruise power to maintain your height.
We then came back to the circuit descending to 1500ft QFE crossing the threshold of 28 and then descended to about 900ft as we entered the circuit. This is slightly higher than normal usually 800ft but in strong winds it is better to be a little higher. We turned onto downwind and then after turning base applied just 10 degrees of flap. We turned onto finals and came in slightly steeper than normal as it was rather bumpy. Carmel landed and taxied off the runway. The flight lasted 45 mins. Fingers crossed the weather is good enough tomorrow.
Lesson 6:Tuesday 12th November 2002(Flight 1) (Total Hours: 7:05)
Monday was a write-off so I had to wait another day. Carmel arrived about noon and I had already taken off the tie-downs, checked the fuel for contamination and pre-flighted the plane so that we could leave quickly. The lesson today would cover turning, in particular medium-level turns. The nose position changes in a typical side-by-side aircraft with it appearing to be lower from the pilot’s position on right turns than left ones. The reason why circuits are generally all left turns is because although the nose is slightly higher it is still easier to see the ground and runway by looking out the side window than on right-hand turns. We also did climbing turns which need to be quite shallow as the lift required when turning is increased and likewise is increased in a climb. A more powerful plane could of course handle steeper climbing turns. Descending turns are a little trickier for the first time anyway. It is easy to let the ROD increase too much as airspeed is also climbing. In all turns but stronger in a descending turn back pressure needs to be applied to keep you from falling or falling too quickly. Stalling speed increases in a turn due to the higher angle of attack. The last thing I’ll say about turning is that unlike in a car once you are turning at the desired rate of turn you centre the control column back to the neutral position and the plane will hold the turn itself.
We also looked at some things that we had missed covering before like the use of flaps in the descent. Flaps provide extra lift so when descending with flap you lower the nose and of course the view out the front improves as the horizon climbs up the windscreen.
In the briefing between flights today Carmel put up on the board:
Power + Attitude = Performance
I knew this from reading it in the training manual but Carmel had a more practical way of expressing it. Power is RPM, Attitude is AOA and performance is IAS. So the rule can be rewritten thus:
RPM + AOA = IAS
Lesson 7:Tuesday 12th November 2002(Flight 2)(Total Hours: 8:05)
My lesson was going to cover slow flight for the second part of the afternoon. This was something I had had a little bit of apprehension about. In slow flight you are just above the stalling speed of the plane and as well as this you are flying with less responsive controls as the airstream is reduced over the ailerons and rudder especially. Due to these aerodynamic properties a lot of coordination is required between power, elevator and rudder. It is good practise though at consolidating what I have already learnt and for knowing how the plane handles in slow flight.
Carmel also threw in with this slow climbing turns and slow descending turns for good measure. This was the first time I had felt busy in the aircraft. We even did slow flight with flaps extended taking our speed back to around 45knots which has to be the slowest I have been whilst flying. Throughout this I was even practising turning onto headings.
We then headed back to the aerodrome and for the first time I was allowed to do everything except radio, downwind checks and the landing itself. I did everything that Carmel had done in the last flight so I won’t write it all again here but I did learn some other things about flying the circuit. When I turned onto downwind Carmel pointed out a bend in the canal which is useful in establishing a parallel track to the runway. As I reached late downwind I was also shown how to know when to turn onto base leg by estimating the threshold of the runway in a 7 o’clock position relative to the aircraft. The wind today over the runway was at about 250 and 10-12 knots. I can’t remember if I crabbed the plane into wind to offset the drift or Carmel but then at around 100ft and at the threshold of the runway Carmel instigated a go-around as had been the plan all along. You didn’t think I was actually going to be allowed to land it just yet did you! Carmel did another circuit and landed.
Lesson 8:Wednesday 13th November 2002(Total Hours: 9:20)
A bonus was to get another flight in before I went back to Dublin. I am beginning to feel I am getting somewhere now and today I would be covering gliding and some stalling. I was even allowed to defer payment of the lesson until next weekend so they must be beginning to trust me I think, if not in the plane itself!
Gliding is easy in theory but if you were in an emergency where the engine stopped then you would need to maintain the optimum glide speed (70kts for a C150) to the absolute closest you can. Obviously this gives you the maximum distance over the ground. However if you are already over a suitable landing site then you may want to stay in the air as long as possible to allow you to check out your field or landing site. Therefore you would fly the plane at a slightly lower airspeed giving you a slower ROD.
The mistake people who don’t fly make about gliding is twofold. Firstly raising the nose in an attempt to give you more distance will not work. Your airspeed drops when you raise the nose and although you stay up for longer you sink faster. Secondly in a glide a plane will actually travel the same distance whether you have a fat lard in the plane or if you’re solo. Added weight moves the plane faster through the air in a glide thereby providing more lift. You may come down faster but you will travel the same distance.
So to glide intentionally you pull out carb heat, power off, keep your height not losing an inch until you have reached your best glide speed then lower the nose to maintain this speed. Trimming out is very important as you don’t want to lose any more height than strictly necessary. You should also warm the engine periodically if you are intending to glide. Levelling off from a glide is the same as levelling off from a powered descent except as you are going from almost no power to cruise power the larger increase in power will try to yaw the plane more strongly and so more right rudder is required. Likewise if you are climbing from a glide your yaw will be even greater as you apply full throttle.
Stalling is a detailed bit of theory. Basically a plane is stalled when the angle of attack (the angle at which the airflow is relative to the wing chord) is exceeded and lift drops below a point required to provide stable flight. It is related to airspeed but it can occur at many different airspeeds depending on what amount of lift is needed. So therefore stalling speed increases in turns, pulling up quickly, climbing and if the wing has ice on it or any other contamination to it for example falling off.
On the airspeed indicator there is a white arc at the lower end is your stall speed with flaps down, power off. Then where the green arc begins is your stall speed ‘clean’ i.e flaps up, power off. Before practising stalling, which is also an aerobatic manoeuvre you need to carry out a HASELL or in abbreviated form a HALE check. H is for Height which means are you high enough to recover and not infringe air laws. A is for Airframe which means do you want flaps down or up, gear down or up and are you in trim. S is for Security hatches and harnesses secure, nothing loose in cockpit, Gyros locked. E is for Engine fuel pump on if fitted, fullest tank selected, mixture and carb heat as required. L is for Location or are you away from towns, controlled airspace, aerodromes and aircraft. The second L is for Lookout which means do a 180-degree clearing turn to check for anything a/c, terrain or bad weather around and below you. So in summary HASELL is Height, Airframe, Security, Engine, Location, and Lookout.
To practise the stall you obviously power off, carb heat to hot, pull the nose back to reduce your airspeed and most importantly keep the balance ball centred and ailerons level. This is because any lateral movement at the stall could bank the plane into a spin which is one very efficient way to fall out of the sky. To recover from the stall you only need to decrease the angle of attack. So therefore lowering the nose is enough as the resulting descent will provide the lift needed to unstall the wings. However as you ideally want to lose as little height as possible you should apply power and then gradually raise the nose. If you pull up too quickly you could restall, known as a secondary stall and lose even more height. We tried this both with power on and power off. Then we went back. I think my next flight on Saturday we will also cover stalling with the flaps on.
With the exception of the flapped stall, spinning and the incipient spin my upper airwork or phase 1 of a PPL course is finished. I will now be moving into phase 2 which is the standard circuit leading to first solo. I have my medical done, and I will shortly need to pay and apply for a Student Pilot’s License(SPL). This will represent for me my first chapter in learning to fly over.
Lesson 9:Saturday 16th November 2002 (Total Time: 10:15)
5 lessons in one week! I have spent a small fortune in the last few days but it has been worth it to firm up my basic skills. I covered the flapped stall and began the introduction to circuit training. I will probably come back to the sideslip and spin at a later time. I am now working towards my first solo!
Stalling with flaps down has two main points. Firstly the nose configuration is lower so the nose at the stall is lower compared to without flaps. Secondly and more important is that when you unstall the wings with flaps and apply full power you must remember of course to keep the speed within the white arc. I had a few practises at this and then we came back to the circuit. I am also beginning to get a few things more right than wrong now. I remember carb heat more often than not and my checks have improved too. One of the things I would like to improve on like every student is listening to the r/t a little better and coupled with that awareness of aircraft in my vicinity.
Right here we go on the circuit. The normal circuit. What follows is what I have been taught and does not mean that is absolute. It will vary a little from plane to plane and from instructor to instructor but is basically like this.
Takeoff
Takeoff here implies you have already done your pre-flight, pre-start, post-start, power, taxiing and pre-takeoff checks. It also means you have announced your taxi on the radio and obtained any necessary clearances. The aborted takeoff, short-field and soft-field takeoff will be explained later. Taxi so that your nose-wheel is straight. I was wondering how you actually feel this or know this. Carmel explained that since the rudder pedals control the nose-wheel then when they are equally balanced and a little forward taxi is carried out your nose-wheel is straight. Now I know why the big airline planes always taxi forward a little just before take-off. So long as you are also pointing directly down the runway then you will now go directly down the runway. Select a reference point on an extended centreline from the runway to track straight. Aileron into wind, brakes off, power to full, check rpm is well in the green, accelerate to takeoff speed and pull back when about 10 knots above takeoff speed for safety.
Climb out
Engine failure after takeoff will be explained later. Adopt the climb attitude, keep hand on full throttle, climb to 300ft, take up flaps (10 degrees only). Keep tracking straight by using your reference point then at 500ft checking first the area is clear turn using another reference point, 90 degrees left to the crosswind leg. For Abbeyshrule there is a small hill which is a useful reference point on left-hand circuits for 28.
Crosswind Leg
Continue climbing to circuit height of 800ft at 70knots. Level off and take up cruise speed. It is called crosswind as it is assuming that takeoff was directly into a headwind. As this is hardly ever the case you should turn the plane to allow for drift whether it is a crosswind or in fact a headwind. Carry out the after-take-off checks if your plane requires one. When you feel you are about the right distance away from the runway turn 90 degrees left again to start the downwind leg.
Downwind Leg
You will know you are at the right distance away if when you turn downwind the edge of your wingtip is just about touching the runway in the background. This is true for a high-wing plane like the Cessna anyhow. On our circuit at Abbeyshrule there is a distinct bend in the canal that acts as a reference point to line the nose up on downwind. It is also normal to state over the radio that you are downwind. The call should be kept succinct and just what is necessary to say. For example:
“Charlie-Tango-India Downwind two-eight”
Then you should carry out your downwind checks. These are also sometimes called the pre-landing checks. A mnemonic that Carmel told me is BUMFICH which stands for Brakes, Undercarriage, Mixture, Fuel & Flaps, Instruments, Carb Heat and Hatches and Harnesses. I think that’s right because I didn’t get to write it down and I only heard it once so if I am wrong I will correct it later.
Base Leg
To know when to turn onto the base leg you note when you pass abeam the threshold and then when the end of the runway is at about your 8 o’clock you check the area is clear and turn left base again announcing this on the radio. All turns you will note are to the left 90 degrees and they should be the high-end of medium level turns 20 – 30 degrees. Allow for drift. In fact the more drift you have on base the more headwind you will have on final. As soon as you level your wings, pull out carb heat, drop your rpm to about 1700 (speed about 75 knots) and lower your height so that by the time you reach turning for the approach you are at or above 500ft. Do not be below 500ft at this stage. If you have a headwind on base then your base will take longer if it is a tailwind you’ll notice how much more pressure you are under as you reach the approach faster. Lower 10 degrees of flap. Before turning onto final approach or simply called finals check the extended centreline for any traffic and line up after the turn as soon as you can on the runway.
Approach
This is probably the most intensive part of the pilot’s workload. However with practise a lot of it becomes instinctive.
Drop your RPM to 1500. From now on until the landing keep one hand on the throttle and the other on the control column at all times. Throughout the approach keep the runway completely just inside the lower half of your windscreen. This will give you the correct glide path. If the runway is well inside you are too low and if it is above the lower half you are too high. If it isn’t there at all, worry. Find the aiming point on the runway and don’t let this either crawl up or fall down the windscreen. It should simply get bigger and bigger. If you have a strong crosswind or headwind you can afford to be a little higher turning onto finals say 600ft. If it is a crosswind you will learn various types of approaches, the crab, the wing-down and the combination wing-down and crab for example. There is also side-slipping and s-turns if you are too high. I will cover these later on when I have learnt them fully.
Lower 20 degrees of flap now if you wish. Carmel told me some other reference points for the approach. The Inny river on the approach to 28 is at the 300ft mark. That is, if you are at 300ft aal at this stage you are on the right glide path. Reaching the trees just before the runway you should be about 100ft. Your final approach speed is perhaps 70 knots with 10 degrees of flap, around 60 knots with 20 degrees. Short finals are the last 200ft of altitude. Keep your centreline and do not make large movements. Reduce power back again to just above idle.
Landing
Then the last part is the landing. As you reach the threshold close the last of the throttle, ideally you are about 20ft lift the nose to level so that your speed drops off and touchdown just above the stalling speed if you can as this is the slowest possible landing. Keep the nose-wheel off the ground until the main wheels have touched as this protects the tip of the propeller from touching the runway in case you have landed hard. Your eyes should be out the window looking at the end of the runway to maintain your track. As power has been reduced you will eventually stop, unless you landed on an extreme down-slope! Therefore only a small amount of braking is required provided you have plenty of runway.
So that is the circuit and that is what I did well most of it anyhow! I should have all of my lesson time for the next while devoted to the circuit.
Lesson 10: Saturday 30th November 2002 (Total Time: 11:05)
I had a rather challenging day today. My instructor Carmel let me do all checks and taxi out to the hold. However she thought that the tire on her side was spinning slightly differently than normal so she taxied down the runway. It proved to be fine and I carried out the take-off.
We covered six or seven touch and go’s and I had my work cut-out. As I have already explained the basic circuit and since that was all we covered today there is not much else to say. We had a headwind perfectly on runway 28 and about 10knots. I noticed after doing a touch and go an increased climb performance on the climbout. At circuit height it was a little bumpy.
Some of the things I noticed myself that I need to work on or remember are:
The last point refers to something I noticed and I am sure everyone does at first. At times I would carry out say the first half of the circuit ok and then make a mess of the latter half and vice versa.
Despite the above points I am pleased so far with my progress. The lesson was short about 50 mins as longer than this and my brain could get fried. I expect to be almost completely doing the circuit in my lessons until I go solo. I would like to get some more practise at taxiing too. Lastly I have decided that it is prudent to switch all lights on no matter what the conditions once the engine is started. Especially in a country like Ireland where the sky above is often cloudy and the sun’s reflection off an aircraft is unlikely.
Lesson 11: Saturday 7th December 2002 (Total Time: 11:45)
I seem to be having all the luck with the weather. I finish the upper airwork and start circuits and the ceiling drops accordingly as if it was planned that way! However for those at my club who are doing cross-crountry at the moment it has not been so kind.
I am now doing the whole circuit with a lot less prompting and input than last week. I am taxiing, making the radio calls, doing the approach(still some prompting on power levels here) and landing. I did happen though to call left downwind then left base then left finals! Quite a stupid thing to say but amusing I'm sure no end to other pilots who were listening! My centerline tracking on approach still needs work as does the habit I have of having too much airspeed followed by too little then on short final which is quite dangerous. For those students that may have been a little unsure of where to actually center the centerline on approach, Carmel told me that keeping it between your legs is a good way to judge this and I have to say it has worked so far even in crosswind conditions. I seem also to be touching myself down very early on the strip which would be a good thing if I happened to be practising short-field landing but as our strip is 800m or so, I think 100m down from the threshold would be more comfortable. So raising my aiming point and also keeping a good eye out the window to check my position relative to the runway throughout the circuit need to be looked at too.
However having said that I do feel a lot more consistent in the plane now and I am very satisfied with the pace at which I am picking it up. I have also signed and paid up for my ground school and will start that at the the end of January over 4 weekends (64 hours total) and sit the exams on the 7th of March. I am doing this at a flight school rather than at my club as I had thought there was not enough interest to run a class and as it was run in Abbeyshrule last year rather than Dublin it didn't look like I was going to have a choice. They, as it turns out, are organising classes in Dublin for the June exams which is a shame. I spoke with the AME (who is also a member of the club) and he still hasn't received my chest x-ray even though I did it over a month ago! This is a little annoying because it has to be sent off then to the chief AME and then come back. If I am compelled to have an ECG to prove the fact that I have not got epilepsy nor have had since 2 and a half years old then this will mean further delays. After that I have to apply for a student license and I need a recommedation signed by my club's CFI who I haven't seen in months so undoubtedly more delays there. Then everything gets sent off with my fee to the IAA for approval. This can take another two weeks! I can't go solo until I have my SPL and I will need to keep current so that I am not rusty. Add to this that I am taking ground school classes throughout weekends in February and exams the first weekend of March and I could be waiting a long time indeed to go solo! Even when I have all of this in place I still need a Class 2 instructor for a pre-solo check and as there are only two instructors at my club both of whom come out rarely I will be waiting even longer! My club's Christmas party is next weekend and I am going down for that and I will probably only get one more lesson in this year.
Lesson 12: Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th December 2002(Total Hours: 12:25)
The Christmas Party was great! Apart from the expected dinner, spot prizes, drink and dance the night was different from other christmas parties I have been too simply because of the flying theme.
The CFI gave out awards for person(s) of the year, first solo certificates, PPL certificates and club wings for PPLs and new instructors. Then the spot prizes were chosen by hat and quite unexpectedly two people alone received nearly half of them! Quite embarrassing for the individuals involved. I learnt that we may be looking at doing tailwheel conversions in the near future and RCLs and numbers on the tarmac are also on the cards.
The club's AME was there and he gave me my medical approval. I spoke to the CFI about applying for my student license and he told me he would drop off forms for me next week. Looks like a solo sometime early in the new year then! I am also going to put up a website for the club and for the microlight club at the field also.
I spent the night a stone's throw from the airfield in a thatched cottage. The next morning I thought I'd call in to the field to see if anything was happening. As it happens I got squeezed in between two other students.
My instructor today was Jimmy. He pulled out my file which apparently says I'm doing great so that is good. After a recap with him on the circuit I went out with him and sharpened up my circuit. I got many more things pretty good than last time and now it is a matter of keeping consistent. I would like to be going solo before I start my ground school as this will put weekend flying out of the picture for at least two months which means I will get rusty unless I can fit it in midweek sometime.
Jimmy noted the following points: A little late on the roundout and flare, still a little work required on lining up the centerline and tracking down it, need to stop putting myself down when making a mistake. These are all part of what everyone goes through anyhow and all in all it is good progress. No flying next week but perhaps the weekend after Xmas.
Lesson 13: Saturday December 28th 2002(Total Hours: 13:20)
Back with Carmel again and I had a what was perhaps the worst lesson for me partly due to a little rustiness and lack of concentration but more to do with the plane today. A workman always blames his tools they say but I believe I have a valid reason to feel it wasn't just being rusty. If I was the pilot-in-command I wouldn't have gone up solo anyhow.
Basically the problem was that my instructor's headset wasn't receiving or transmitting at all. After checking connections, volume adjust and switching headsets we couldn't find the problem. What was worse was that in order to solve this problem Carmel had to plug into my side meaning that she also had to reach across to use my PTT button whenever we needed to transmit. As the intercom wasn't working either I had to take my effectively speaking 'ear defenders' off in order to hear what she was telling me and even then it was difficult. The noise inside the cabin was very distracting and somehow flying in an airplane without a headset seemed very alien.
It later emerged that a small switch to change the intercom system from 'solo' to 'dual' had been switched to 'solo'. I had never noticed this before and it was only halfway through the lesson that we flipped it by just 'fiddling' around with the intercom. I learnt absolutely nothing in the first half except what this button did and what it was like to fly without a headset! Having said that, I was flying like a dog, forgetting things I shouldn't have, converging on downwind (in calm conditions!) etc.
The second half though, covered the flapless approach and landing. In this configuration the downwind is extended as you come in faster (due to the higher stall speed) and take longer to descend (due to less drag). Airspeed also takes longer to 'wash off'. Flapless approaches are only required if the flap system fails or if there is strong crosswind conditions that dictate for stability not lowering any flaps. I misjudged the power on one approach and came quite close to the trees just before the threshold of 28. The long final nature of a flapless approach also makes it harder to find the runway and it appears 'squatter' (shorter and wider) on the windscreen.
All this was better than my first half until radio interference made it impossible for us to hear transmissions clearly in the circuit. Carmel was also worried that other aircraft couldn't hear us. As other aircraft were doing normal circuits and we would extend our downwind if we did a flapless approach we had to come in and do normal circuits also. Add to this the fact that Carmel's mobile phone went off twice during the lesson and I think I coped with today quite well.
I was talking to one of the maintenance people afterwards as well and he is going to 'incapacitate' the solo/dual intercom switch as it is not necessary to have it in a training aircraft anyhow. I have had an email from the club I had had my name down to join before I joined my current club. It is in Dublin Airport so it means things like cost, travel, weather-checking and R/T are all in favour for me to switch clubs. They even have a touring aircraft which is not used for training for hire for PPL holders. I will probably get my 'solo' in my current club and join the one in Dublin in a couple of months. I have also started the paperwork for my SPL and for sitting my exams which are in March.
Happy New Year!
Lesson 14: Saturday 4th January 2003 (Total Time 13:50)
The first flight of the New Year and what a great day to go flying it was too! I was keen to get out and show I had improved my circuit after not being too happy with the last lesson. My instructor had had her phone go off during the last lesson, once when I was on finals and so today I had asked her if she would turn it off. However she said that it had once saved her life by having it switched on. Something to do with having no radios and not realising it until someone rang her on her phone. I accepted this but there have been cases of people not switching them off when refuelling and causing an explosion so as far as I am concerned it is a moot point. I accepted her reasoning but if I was the pilot-in-command I wouldn’t allow it.
Anyhow, my lesson today covered the short field landing. For this you come in with 30 degrees of flap and reduce speed to 55 knots. The round out is more commenced later than usual and the aiming point gets closer with each setting of flap so initially you would aim to land far up the runway to allow for this. With obstacles at the threshold, like our runway, the approach would be steeper than the normal circuit. If there is no obstacles it would be shallower than normal. The wheels will skid if excessive braking is applied early in the landing run. If it is a very short field then braking should be applied.
I also practised the basic circuit again with touch and gos. Again I am improving my basic circuit and again though I am having this problem with turning and lining up the centerline on finals. The circuit was quite busy this afternoon too which was good for me as I haven’t been in a busy circuit until now. It meant slight extensions of downwind leg or an orbit at base or widening base leg as necessary to delay the circuit. The timing of this was my instructors though as I am still occupied with flying the plane mostly.
Tomorrow now should be another good day with a little more wind. I will be with Jimmy tomorrow and I am hoping he will cover the short-field takeoff and perhaps engine failure after takeoff(EFATO). I will probably leave the glide approach until another time.