1 - Trial Lesson

<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><A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lesson11"><U><B><IMG SRC="03e0e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="down" 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="id62.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="2 Effects of Controls"><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="53ca0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> 1 - Trial Lesson</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> <A HREF="id110.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="29 Solo Landaway"><U>29 - Solo Landaway</U></A></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> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#CCCCE4" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>1 - Trial Lesson</I></div> <div> 25th Feb.</div> <div> The day got off to a good start -- a clear day with brilliant sunshine, but it was cold, with the thermometer barely registering 1 degree C. However, the car heater kept me nice and toasty on the drive up to Enstone airfield. Winds were northerly and gusting. Enstone is a small village on the edge of the Cotswolds, about halfway between Oxford and Chipping Norton. Like many of Oxfordshire's airfields, it saw service in WWII as a home for Lancaster bombers, but now has a more peaceful GA existance serving as home to light, microlight and glider schools.</div> <bR> <div> By a strange coincidence, the chap in the corner of the clubhouse (there has to be one doesn't there!) used to run the lighting company that rented us the stage lights for the show I'm SMing this week. He also flew location recces for LOTR down in New Zealand. But I digress!</div> <bR> <div> Alistair, my instructor had already completed the pre-flight and scraped the ice off the TB9's wings (!) , so after a quick tour round the outside of the plane it was straight into the left seat for a tour of the controls and the briefing.</div> <bR> <div> After completing the pre-flight checklist, Alistair taxied the plane to the holding area for runway 26, and we waited there briefly while another plane landed and exited the runway. Once things were clear, we taxied out onto the runway, and were off. ATC only operates at Enstone during the weekends, so on a Wednesday the radio calls were all advisory. The brief was that Alistair would do the taxi and take off, and climb us up to a reasonable height (3000ft in this instance), and then I'd take over until it was time for Alistair to bring the plane back down and land it.</div> <bR> <div> The takeoff was actually very bumpy, and I started off thinking I'm not sure if I like this, but Alistair explained that with the wind in the North and pretty much at right angles to the runway, a brake of trees at the North side of the airfield actually made the air just there quite turbulent. Ohkayyy... Anyhow, once aloft we settled into a 700ft/sec climb up to 3000 ft, where it was just bumpy. At this point Alistair handed control of the aeroplane over to me. We then went through all the flight controls again, trying them out this time and seeing the effect on the plane in flight, and then the next 45-50 minutes or so were spent doing turns, gentle climbs and descents as well as the trusty straight and level.</div> <bR> <div> The key to straight and level flight is to hold out your hand in front of you and count the number of fingers between the horizon and the top of rhe panel. This worked fine most of the time, but did come slightly unstuck when flying towards the hills. Most of the turns were at around 20-25 degrees of bank, although we did do a couple of 30degree turns. I found it surprisingly easy to maintain altitude in the turn (at least within a few tens of feet). Similarly, other than for taxiing on the ground, little or no rudder was needed.. Navigation was pretty much "turn till you're lined up with that hill", or "that's Bicester, head for it". it wasn't really a case of trim the aircraft and it'll stay where it 's put -- the gusting winds (25-30kts aloft) tended to make a good job of throwing us off course and making the ride bumpy. Depending on which way we looked, we could see as far as Birmingham one way, the Severn Estuary another. Apparently from 5000ft you can even see the Isle of Wight.</div> <bR> <div> At one point we saw a Harrier about 1000ft below us and hurtling across our port bow. Alistair immediately took the controls back and said "let's not go that way -- they usually come in pairs!"</div> <bR> <div> All too soon the time was over, and we headed back towards the airfield. Alistair then took control and brought us into right downwind, 800 ft above the runway. The wind was quite strong now and we were crabbing noticeably. I was a little surprised at how close to the runway the downwind leg was -- apparently it's to avoid overflying local villages. There was no base leg to speak of, a 180 degree descending turn brought us straight in to final, still crabbing markedly, only straightening up and flaring at the last moment for a smooth touchdown. Then, taxi back down the runway to park and grab a most welcome coffee.</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lesson11"><U><IMG SRC="085a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A> <A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lesson12"><U><IMG SRC="086a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A> <A HREF="id32.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lesson13"><U><IMG SRC="087a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A> <A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lesson14"><U><IMG SRC="088a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A> <A HREF="id34.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lesson15"><U><IMG SRC="089a0780.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <div> Click on the thumbnails to see a bigger version.</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>