29 - Solo Landaway

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="045085a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Golf Mike Bravo going around...</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Golf Mike Bravo going around..."><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Golf Mike Bravo going around..."><U><B><IMG SRC="03b0e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>   </B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="14" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="14"><B>     </B><A HREF="id109.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="28 Landaways"><U><B><IMG SRC="02f0e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="previous" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><A HREF="id111.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="30 QXC"><U><B><IMG SRC="0300e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="next" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="046d2e83.jpg"> <div>     <IMG SRC="5eea0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <A HREF="id61.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="1 Trial Lesson"><U>1 - Trial Lesson</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id62.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="2 Effects of Controls"><U>2 - Effects of Controls</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id63.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="3 A trip to Henstridge"><U>3 - A trip to Henstridge</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id64.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="4 Straight and Level"><U>4 - Straight and Level</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id65.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="5 Or not!"><U>5 - Or not!</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id67.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="6 Up, down and around"><U>6 - Up, down and around</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id68.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="7 Stalls and Slow Flight"><U>7 - Stalls and Slow Flight</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id69.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="8 More stalls and PFLs"><U>8 - More stalls and PFLs</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id70.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="9 Into the circuit..."><U>9 - Into the circuit...</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id71.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="10 Golf Mike Bravo Going Around. Again!"><U>10 - Golf Mike Bravo Going Around. Again!</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id72.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="11 Circuits and spice (and Things Not N"><U>11 - Circuits and spice (and Things Not Nice)</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id73.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="12 More circuits (and brain fade)"><U>12  - More circuits (and brain fade)</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id74.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="13 Developing a flair for the flare"><U>13 - Developing a flair for the flare</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id75.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="14 Close But No Cigar!"><U>14 - Close But No Cigar!</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id76.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="15 Still no cigar"><U>15 - Still no cigar</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id77.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="16 Solo"><U>16 - Solo</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id78.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="17 Getting the hang of it again"><U>17 - Getting the hang of it again</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id79.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="18 I Follow Railways"><U>18 - I Follow Railways</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id80.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="19 Head in the Clouds"><U>19 - Head in the Clouds</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id81.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="20 Second Solo"><U>20 - Second Solo</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id82.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="21 Reach for the Pie!"><U>21 - Reach for the Pie!</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id84.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="22 Into the Zone"><U>22 - Into the Zone</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id85.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="23 Back to the Circuit"><U>23 - Back to the Circuit</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id86.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="24 Another Navex"><U>24 - Another Navex</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id87.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="25 First Solo Nav: The going gets tough"><U>25 - First Solo Nav: The going gets tough...</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id88.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="26 Divers Diversions"><U>26 - Divers Diversions</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id108.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="27 Diversions, in a roundabout way"><U>27 - Diversions, in a roundabout way</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id109.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="28 Landaways"><U>28 - Landaways</U></A></div> <div> 29 - Solo Landaway</div> <div> <A HREF="id111.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="30 QXC"><U>30 - QXC</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id112.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="31 Where do you want to go today?"><U>31 - Where do you want to go today?</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id113.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="32 Revision"><U>32 - Revision</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id114.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="33 Finals"><U>33 - Finals</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id82.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="21 Reach for the Pie!"><U>21 - Reach for the Pie!</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#CCCCE4" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>29 - Solo Landaway</I></div> <bR> <div> First a brief update of events since the last lesson.</div> <bR> <div> <B>22nd December</B></div> <div> Today wasn't good enough for solo flying -- too windy -- although not as bad as forecast, and vis was excellent. So I did my last two written exams (Met and RT). I won't know the results until tomorrow as Richard, the CFI wasn't in to mark them (I met him in Sainsbury's on the way home though!)</div> <bR> <div> I could have got in an hour's dual this afternoon, but it would really have been flying just for the sake of it, so I deciced to hold it back for next week when the revision time will be really useful.</div> <bR> <div> Later: I had a phone call this evening with the results: Meterology 100%, RT 97%. Only one question wrong in two exams! That just leaves one remaining: the RT practical, and that is bookef for Friday morning -- Christmas Eve.</div> <bR> <div> <B>23rd December</B></div> <div> This turned out to be more of a "how long can you stay in the air without turning green" lesson. Alistair had been out with another student earlier, and reported that it calmed down above 1500 feet. However we got to 3000 ft with a 3500 ft cloud base and it was still bumpy as anything. In practical terms there wasn't much we could usefully revise, so after a while we came back.</div> <bR> <div> What was interesting though was that our take off roll was incredibly short -- we'd reached over 100 feet before the start of the marked out runway, and 1200 feet by the end of it! Coming back, the GPS showed our ground speed as 145 kts! And on final we were at 80kts indicated with 1 stage of flaps, and we just crawled down!</div> <bR> <div> Fortunately I didn't have to spend the afternoon cleaning the inside of the cockpit! I'm still not "happy" in turbulent weather, but I'm definitely more tolerant of it than I was!</div> <bR> <div> <B>24th December</B></div> <div> The RT practical was scheduled for this morning, so predictably the weather was improving by leaps and bounds and anyway Wellesbourne was closing early, so there would be no flying. </div> <bR> <div> The exam was held over at the other side of the airfield, in the Tower building. The format was to be an imaginary flight, with me doing the RT for the aircraft and the examiner doing the "other end" from another room. We'd talk to each other through standard headsets plugged into a special box. A dial would be used to indicate the frequency selected. I was given some time to study the route and prepare -- decide who I would talk to and when etc, just as for a real flight.</div> <bR> <div> The flight was in a Cessna 172, travelling between two imaginary airports. We'd do the RT for the whole trip, from start up to shut down, with a few surprises thrown in for good measure. The trip encompassed just about every situation you might normally encounter in a flight. There was no need to do the trip in real time (ETAs for the turning points etc were given); you could jump straight from one message to the next, take time to think about what you wanted to say and so on. The one stipulation being that you couldn't take longer than the real flight would take. </div> <bR> <div> I was picked up on two points: I was given an instruction to report maintaining a flight level, and I said <I>"wilco"</I> instead of reading back the clearance (the 'ATC' then asked me to read back), and I'd gone to the approach frequency instead of the radar frequency to ask for the SVFR transit ('ATC' just told me to change frequency). Anyway it was judged a pass, and 40 minutes and £80 later all the ground exams were finished. Yay!</div> <bR> <div> <B>30 December</B></div> <div> Christmas day and Boxing day were perfect flying weather, but of course no training was possible. Subsequently the weather degenerated again, and we couldn;t fly. Eventually today we decided it was good enough to chance it. I got the solo landaway done, although predictably, the weather intervened to cut the navigation portion of the exercise short.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="5fa2c8d0.jpg" border=0 width="300" height="397" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="0">The plan called for a transit through Gloucester's overhead and a landing at Kemble. But Kemble was closed for training, and so the plan was modified to land at Gloucester and transit Kemble's overhead. I phoned Gloucester for PPR and got the runway in use and joining procedures at the same time.</div> <bR> <div> We started with the usual trip from Enstone to Wellesbourne, with a PFL thrown in for interest. It's been a while since I've done one and it was pitifully obvious how out of practice I was. I can see lots more of those in the not too distant future! We then joined downwind for what was probably my worst landing since early circuits. Welcome back Mr Bouncy!</div> <bR> <div> From here I left my instructor to the delights of an all-day breakfast and Harry Potter, and set off towards Gloucester. The first leg was covering familiar territory since it was essentially the reverse of the diversion I'd done on myfirst solo nav. On leaving Wellesbourne's frequency I tuned in to the Gloucester ATIS to get the latest situation before speaking to Gloucester Information (and reporting Information Golf and QNH 1026) They asked me to report airfield in sight.</div> <bR> <div> I was at 2000 ft on their QFE, fully expecting an overhead join for runway 22, but when I reported field in sight, I was offered straight in, report 2 mile final. So I started descending to circuit height and got on with the downwind checks.I'm still not particularly good at judging distances from the air, but on the chart there's a junction of the M5 about 2 miled out, so I reported crossing that. I was then cleared to land and followed the PAPI down for a reasonably good landing (significantly better than at Wellesbourne anyway!). Once down, turn left onto runway 36, and left again on taxiway A, to the GA apron.</div> <bR> <div> After I'd booked in at the terminal building (swish!), paid the landing fee (£10 for a training flight), phoned Alistair with a report, and booked out, it was time to go. Checks completed, I requested taxi clearance and joined the queue of departing aircraft at the hold. A brief wait for a touch and go, and I was given clearance to line up, and then to take off.</div> <bR> <div> I left the circuit to the South, heading towards Kemble and was asked to report clearing the ridge to the south of the airfield. I was then asked to freecall Kemble, and I changed frequencies. I haven't discussed the weather yet. Well, there there was a warm front inbound from the North West, and the cloud base was gradually lowering, although the ATIS was still reporting all the 9s and 5000 ft. You could see some murk over the hills but they were clear of actual cloud. And then they weren't. Perhaps grey cloud can be hard to spot against a grey sky, that or maybe it forms very quickly, but on the other hand it's very easy to spot close up. I'd previously wondered how someone could accidentally find themselves in cloud, well I guess I know now! Anyhow, there was only one course of action: A 180 degree rate 1 turn, exactly as I'd been taught in the instrument lessons. No trouble at all, and I was very quickly back in clear air.</div> <bR> <div> Then it was back on to Gloucester <I>"I'll be routing back through your overhead and then direct to Wellesbourne, due to cloud"</I>. There's a certain familiarity about routing back from Gloucester having abandoned through worsening weather. Perhaps I should just plan a return leg from Gloucester for every trip in future... </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="5f020580.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="600" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Mike Bravo on the apron at Gloucester</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>