9 - Into the circuit...

<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="id69.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="8 More stalls and PFLs"><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="id71.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="10 Golf Mike Bravo Going Around. Again!"><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="53da0780.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> 9 - Into the circuit...</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>9 - Into the circuit...</I></div> <bR> <div> 21st May</div> <div> For the first time, the lesson was not about doing stuff then a quick touch-and-go at Wellesbourne, then more doing stuff. This was to be a straigt fly to Wellesbourne, do loads of circuits, then fly back. The RT going out was a bit better, and Alistair showed me a few tricks to make life easier - you can work out the QFE on the ground before the radio check, by simply zeroing the altimeter, and from there you can work out QNH. Also listen to other traffic, and you'll get a good idea of what settings you'll be given, particularly on the first contact at Wellesbourne. Also if you set the altimeter as it's being given to you, you can literally read it back, which saves having to remember it. RT in the circuit was much simpler, and literally just involved calling downwind and final.</div> <bR> <div> Take off at Enstone was from runway 08, which meant taxying all the way down the runway and turning around at the other end. The marked out runway is just a tiny part of the old tarmac WWII runway, so that even I could manage to keep it on the tarmac (actually it wasn't that bad). There is a hump in the middle of the runway, such that you cannot see the 08 threshold from the 26 end. Stories are that it's there to help students with their first take offs! We got up to a fair lick of speed going gown the runway, and had to apply a fair amount of braking to slow down enough to turn around at the end. The take off was uneventful though and after the climbout, a left turn pointed us towards the hill with the clump of trees on the top (I must find out what it's called!), that is our visual reference for Shipston-on-Stour, and radio changeover to Wellesbourne.</div> <bR> <div> The circuit today was runway 36 left hand, and we joined overhead, as per normal. The only thing different was that it was me flying right down to the ground. I had a hard time completing the downwind <B>BUMPFITCH</B> checks, partly struggling to remember them, and just not being very quick at doing them. I don't think I actually completed them once! The landings were generally okay, considering my first ever landing was only yesterday. I'm needing a bit of help with the flare - I don't seem to have got the hang of that, and I have a tendancy to land on the left side of the runway. Alistair says that's the result of 20 years ingrained driving! The circuit is slightly unconventional in that immediately after takeoff from 36, you make a right turn to 030 for noise abatement, and maintain that heading until you reach 1000 feet. You don't have the 500 foot climbing turn to crosswind that's described in the books. Navigating around the circuit was not too hard; there were some nice landmarks to make things easy (although we still tried to do it by reference to the position of the runway relative to the aeroplane). The 030 climb out takes you directly towards a garden centre, which you conveniently reach overhead at 1000 feet, then there are some distinctive cloched fields at about the right point to turn downwind, etc. The point about not relying on the landmarks is well made though, because when you go to different airfields, you won't have them.</div> <bR> <div> After the sixth touch and go, I was getting a bit knackered, so we headed back. returning to Enstone, there was a rally car practising on the threshold of runway 8, showing no sign of having seen us, so Alistair took control for the landing and landed us long, but, unfortunately the left main tyre burst on landing (which was an interesting experience) I was left to wait by the plane while Alistair ran for help, and he came back with Geoff and another chap. Between us we dragged the plane to the opposite hold out of the way. Later investigation revealed that the tyre had had two bald spots, neither of which had been picked up on the A-check (another downside to having spats on the wheels!)</div> <bR> <div> I still have right leg trouble -- it's the one thing my FI constantly moans about. Whenever I stop thinking about it and concentrate on something else for a moment -- scan, checking airspeed, whatever, my foot subconsiously releases pressure, and the instructor yells "Ball!" again</div> </td> </tr></table></body>