Marky Wants To Fly

Summer is finally here !!!

2007-08-11T07:58:00.000Z

Since our trip to the Isle of Wight earlier this month, the weather had been appalling considering that it was July, a supposedly summer month. But, with the promise of vast improvements and sunnier times, we planned a trip over to the East coast. Having not flown further than Breighton before, this would be a new experience for the both of us. Personally, I thought that it was a rather novel idea being able to see both the Irish Sea and the North Sea in the same afternoon. With an initial destination of Beverley in mind, followed by a brew stop at Sandtoft, the trip was planned for Saturday 28th July 2007.

Departing Barton’s RWY 27L just before lunch, we initiated a downwind departure and tracked around MCR Class D and proceeded to a reference point overhead Huddersfield Crossland Moor airstrip. I decided that I needed to practice my instrument skills, so for the flight, Jacqueline was the eyes of the operation, constantly looking out for other traffic. The Magnetic tracks and timings which I had drawn up before the flight all worked out well and very few of them did not match their predictions. Although we had been unable to gain PPR for Beverley due to a lack of telephone answering services on their end, we did manage to contact them on their A/G service. Unfortunately, the airfield was closed due to severe flood damage. Ok, a shock, but nothing too bad. After quickly switching frequencies to Humberside Radar, I decided that I still wanted to visit the sea, and chose North Coates as a diversion. North Coates airstrip is situated adjacent to Spurn head on the East Coast just near the mouth of the River Humber. With a RWY direction perpendicular to the sea, the approach and finals was very picturesque and beautiful with a Westerly wind. Coming in over the beach, was something which I had not done since my days at Woodvale, and to do it this low was spectacular. I found myself relying on the Altimeter a lot more than I do when I am over grass fields and roads, as it is a lot harder to judge vertical separation due to the constant.

Upon landing and paying our three pounds for a landing and two brews (wow), we decided to walk to the beach, a journey about half a mile in length and over dunes and dykes. We had brought a feast of a picnic with us. With the tide out, walking to the actual sea took a good hour, but it was worth it in the end. We even managed to get a bit of dancing and aeroplane manoeuvres in along the way! We ate our dinner lay in a field, before casually walking back to VA and departing to Sandtoft. We would defiantly be coming back to North Coates. Speaking to the lady at the desk, it became apparent that we could camp overnight at the airfield. We therefore earmarked Friday 24th August as an overnight flyaway, but that’s another story.

Departing North Coates with flaps set down to take off and a good headwind, we were airborne on the 650m RWY well before the half way mark. Switching quickly to Humberside APP, I notified them of our presence and also that we would like to transit the ILS via two marked VRP’s. With all the traffic on the frequency and an A330 inbound, I expected them to say no and therefore had a reserve plan drawn up. But, surprisingly they said yes and so we continued to fly at 1500ft perpendicular to the active RWY. We were also notified that their was a Spitfire and a Hurricane on route in the area, but we did not manage to gain an affirm on visual. The approach into Sandtoft was interesting to say the least, due to the fact that finals seemed to place you right over an industrial park, parallel to a road with some very high looking lampposts. In fact, the warnings to land past the numbers were well noted, and it soon made perfect sense, seeing as some of the closer lampposts clearly intruded well into any standard approach pattern. On short finals, we could have been driving down a road. I then decided that I would not be returning here. The quality of the RWY did not get many points either, as for a GA hub, I expected more. Anyway, after a free landing, a few cakes and a brew, we clambered back into VA and departed for Crossland Moor. Immediately after climbing to CCT height, we changed HDG and contacted Doncaster APP for an immediate transit through their ILS. Jackie was the nominated navigator for this leg of the trip, and she was very good at keeping us on our correct track over the ground. Within a short period of time, we were back on the ground and rolling to a stop in the pan at Crossland Moor. Surprisingly, we were the only visitors for the day, which is strange considering how it was a Saturday afternoon, and the first sunny day in short term memory. Perhaps it was the fact that it was slightly blustery which put people off.

After a pit stop, we were back in the air and heading home. Immediately after T/o, I handed over to Jackie, who piloted VA back to Barton. She was a natural, smooth and proficient. Not only did she do the flying, but also after a brief radio lesson, the R/T as well. Carrying out an overhead join, I merely took the controls about 300 ft above the ground on finals and executed a smooth touchdown and rolled back to the hanger via the fuel bay. Today had been amazing. A variety of places, one of which is now one of our favourite places to visit so far in my aviation memories.

'Road Trip'

2007-07-15T16:20:00.000Z

This flight was one that had been in the pipeline for a few months. The plan was to fly South from Barton over the Brecon Beacons down to Perranporth and Lands End. A round trip of over 450 nautical miles. But, with the weather unquestionably un-seasonal to say the least, the plan had to be modified. Instead of the usual weather experienced during the summer months, the sky treated was busy treating us to a severe dousing of showers, torrential downpours and frequent thunderstorms. Not the perfect weather for touring, but sitting in the café with a hot chocolate and with brighter days forecasted I decided to dodge the showers and go for it. VA was packed with all of our gear, the tent, sleeping bags and enough clothes and snacks for a few days. Boarding VA along with my passenger and co pilot for the trip Jacqueline, I was full of glee and joy. Leaving the moist grass of Barton’s RWY 27L at lunchtime on Sunday 1st July, the destination was Compton Abbas, a hill top airfield close to Yeovolton. Flying down past Oulton Park and Cosford, the weather was getting better with every mile flown. Although a few showers were met, I simply applied the carb heat, turned the pitot heat on and made sure that all the hatches were battened down. The scenery was beautiful, absolutely stunning, the rolling hills and flat fields off Shropshire were a joy to fly over.

Approaching Bristol, the airspace grew thick and fast. Although the military stations were all shut with it being a Sunday, we were passed like a hot potato in-between the approach frequencies of the likes of Birmingham, Gloucester, Bristol-Filton, Bristol, and Bournemouth. The experience gained from this was invaluable. Approaching the Severn estuary, the start to the Bristol Channel, the views were amazing. Perhaps one of the most spectacular parts of the trip, after the Bristol area, was overhead Bath. The city looked amazing from the air, as we were able to see everything in its full grandeur. The approach to Compton was interesting. Although the airfield was easy enough to find, due to the high intensity white strobe light, which they had employed, the fact that it was situated on top of a hill next to a forest led to a whole array of flying conditions. We had decided on Compton, due to the fact that Sandown IOW did not have fuel and did not expect to get any delivered until the end of the following week. The cct was elongated, due to the proximity of the local ‘quite spot’ hamlets and villages. Short finals was where it got interesting, and it was only when I was stood on the ground an hour later watching a Piper Warrior take two attempts to land, that I realised just how tricky it was. Although unreported upon contact with the field, it became clear that windshear conditions were prevalent. A full does of throttle quickly remedied this problem, followed by a smoothish landing giving the conditions. I was impressed with myself and patted myself on the back, as it was not a straightforward task, especially in the face of coach load of keen aviation photographers! After paying the landing fees and gaining a small round of applause from the staff for the landing efforts, we pitched the tent right under the wing of VA, which was a rather novel site. A six-mile hike to the local town later, and we were relaxing on the ground in front of VA, with a bbq full of sausages. That was the life!
We awoke on the next day, Monday the 2nd July, to reasonably clear skies and little wind. But, being in the UK, this did not last long. Soon, the Vis dropped and the rain came rolling in, it was honestly hard to believe that it was July! After a full English fry-up the weather had slightly improved and we decided to head off to Sandown in the Isle of Wight. A flight just under one hour, which would take us over the New Forest in Hampshire and the Solent. It turned out to be remarkable. Flying in between Bournemouth and Southampton’s Control Zones not above 2000ft, we had two disused airfields as VRP’s. It turned out to be very exciting and enthralling. Although we did actually fly through a few showers, we came out on the other side in blue skies and sunny skies of an apparent ‘new world’. Once again, the landing was eventful, but good. The wind was gusting 25+ Kts straight down the RWY, so coming over the trees at the threshold was a little blustery, but the touchdown was nice. The local flying school, who were all firmly stood to the ground, seemed to like it anyway lol. A ‘short’ walk into Sandown itself actually turned into an 8-mile coastal hike, taking us around the boundary of the neighbouring airfield Bembridge. The evening ended, with a mound of chicken on a bbq in the sunset and a night camping once again under the wind of VA on a deserted airfield…

The third day of our voyage was meant to see us return smoothly to Barton. But, following the trends of tradition, the weather since our departure had rendered the grass of Barton inoperable, and so we were forced to divert en-route. Although it may seem that this was a little problematic, the fact that I had the whole week off work and love flying, actually meant that the situation turned out to be great. An excuse to be with the plane for longer, woo hoo! The choice of destination was now Shobdon, an airfield in the heart of Hertfordshire, where I had not visited since I was a lad. The flight over to Shobdon was great; it consisted of a visual round the island tour of the Isle of Wight, including eye pleasing visuals of the famous Needle Rocks, and Henry VIII’s Hurst’s Castle. The flight North retraced our previous route, flying over both Beaulieu and Stoney Cross VRP’s. With it now being a weekday, Tuesday in fact, I decided to speak to Boscombe Down seeing as we were planning to fly across the end of their MATZ stub. Although it is not a legal requirement to talk to them, it made sense, due to the fact that during the week, the levels of military traffic at our planned altitude of 1500-2000ft is often high. The best example of this actually happened to us when flying over Bath to Bristol, when we were informed by Bristol App that we had rotary traffic of an Army Gazelle helicopter incoming at 1000ft. We were above him and did not see him and to be honest, with the high levels of camouflage adopted by these aircraft, we stood no chance. Instead, we relied on the Bristol controller to direct us both onto non-converging flight paths. Flying over Longleat House, allowed us to see the famous Red Bull Air Race venue from a pilots view. Around the Severn, the ATC went like clockwork. We were passed between a number of controllers representing different stations, each of which already held our details. A simple change of squawk meant that we were back on track. Opposite Gloucester, we changed direction to head over to Hereford and Shobdon. Before we knew it, we were overhead Shobdon and preparing to land. Short finals was called and we touched down on the Asphalt, the first non-grass landing of the trip. A quick sugar rush, gained by eating my fair share of 25 chocolate brownies, the rest eaten by a 'squirrel', looking quite remarkably like Jacqueline... Camping was once again on the airfield and although we did enquire about night flying, it was not to be… Instead we went on a countryside walk of the local area.

A new day brought a new chapter in the journey, but no significant change of weather. The cloud was medium level, with high winds and moderate levels of precipitation. The plan was to scoot off to Welshpool, a short hop across the Welsh mountains. We took enough fuel for the journey and a little more, opting to brim her tanks in Welshpool, where we would qualify for a free landing if we took over 80 litres on board. But, like all good plans ours was changed. Upon getting airborne, the incoming weather front forced us to fly the low level route, a slightly longer but by all means safer route. Once we reached Welshpool, the weather opened up nicely into a fine day. The cct there is slightly ‘unconventional’ to say the least. It is flown at 1500ft to avoid high ground, height that can not really be lost until the second half of base and finals. This means that although the RWY consists of 1200ft of Asphalt, the final approach almost represents a short field landing due to the amount of height needing to be lost. Anyway… The landing was smooth, in fact one of my best ever. The numbers were hit perfectly. In fact, one of the first questions I was asked upon disembarking, was ‘are you commercial?’ Although we planned to depart to Barton later in the afternoon, further rain up North put an end to this, and we had no choice but to visit Sleap or stay put. After agreement from a very unwelcoming contact, we opted to stay put and once again camp under the wing of VA on a deserted airfield. We had a walk off the airport into the local area, a walk that saw us return many hours later lol…
Thursday saw the change of many items, mainly the weather. Although Barton was initially shut in the morning, it opened around 13.00 Local. Unfortunately, it finally looked as if we would have to go home. To be honest, the only factor, which made home seem appealing, was the fact that we had only packed clothes for three days, by now the trip was into its fifth day! Otherwise, we could and probably would have stayed out for longer lol! Even though we had to dash back to Barton, before another incoming weather front could potentially leave Barton inoperable, I had been itching to land at Rednal airfield. This is an old RAF base close to RAF Shawbury, which was now PPR only. One RWY was still used or light aircraft, whilst the other two were used for paint balling and a carnival fair. It was interesting, very interesting. Finals saw us fly over a set of pylons followed by some overgrown trees. The facilities, which consisted of a locked hanger and a windsock, were deserted. After a quick pork pie we were once again airborne. Before we knew it, we had Ashcroft airfield in site and we entering the Low Level Corridor. Changing to Barton AFIS, we received notification off a female operator, notifying us that Barton was once again shut. It was only after I declared that I was diverting to Crossland Moor, that she told us that she was only joking. Believe me, my response was not a textbook reply offered in the OAT manuals! After another nice landing, we were pushing VA back into her home, hanger number three. That was the first time that I had ever hit the RWY numbers at Barton, and it felt good!
After several landings on grass and by the looks of it, a few months of not being washed, VA needed a good clean. We spent over an hour scrubbing her down, finally to see whiteness again! A job well done! We had flown for almost eight hours, visited four new airfields and revisited an old favourite of ours. This was the first time since KSEE that I had flown continuously for five days in a row and it felt good. I believe that my skills had become homed in and defiantly improved on a considerable level in many respects. Being the first time we had toured for more than one day, this will surely be a trip, which we will remember for a long time. Many aspects, including the under wing camping and the scenery, were very memorable indeed. The time we spent together had been amazing and we had loved every minute of spending every moment together. We had enjoyed every minute of the holiday!

Robin... But no Batman...

2007-07-08T20:21:00.000Z

My search to transit from the high wing Cessna 172 onto a low wing model led me to the Robin HR200/100. Sitting in a hanger at the back of the airfield, it was clear that she didn’t get much flying, a closer inspection of the airframe further confirmed this theory. As a twin seat, partially aerobatic, low wing aircraft, the Robin seemed like an interesting choice of aircraft to progress onto. I was therefore apprehensively excited about the test flight. Apprehensive, due to the fact that this would be my first flight with a qualified instructor since I passed my PPL Skills Test last September. Excited, due to the pure adrenaline, which is created through flying. The big day was set for the 19th June. Although the day turned out to be a howler, with 24Kt winds, the flight still went ahead. Having not flown with a stick for over three years, it was interesting and fun to once again have the snappy response and pin point accuracy. The Robin handled like a dream, every touch and manoeuvre was made easily and willingly. Simply put, the aircraft went where you asked it to and did what you told it to. Steep turns were a doddle, and stalls were very interesting as well. With the bubble canopy, the visibility was perfect. 360-degree panoramic views were no problem at all. The only downside, was the lack of leg space, and after nearly an hour in the left hand seat, my right leg was falling to sleep. Clearly, although the Robin had so many plus points, the down side of the leg space meant that unfortunately, the share was not to be…

The Best Day Ever!!!

2007-06-04T19:23:00.000Z

Looking out of the window, the weather was looking perfect, warm, sunny, cloudless and blue… Since being at KSEE last September, I had missed the sights of this! Arriving at Barton at 11.00 AM, the flight planning was finished with a quick calculation of the winds and the required HDG’s. Luckily for us, we didn’t need fuel or ‘roads where we were going’, as Barton was getting very busy. It looked like every man and his dog wanted to get up today. Departing at 12.00, we used RWY 20, one which up to date, I had not had the pleasure of using. Short, but well maintained, with lovely views of the Manchester Ship Canal on climb out.

Departing the CCT on downwind, me and my princess tracked around the MCR Class D zone, and up over the peaks of Derbyshire. Flying overhead Huddersfield Crossland Moor, the destination was Breighton, the home of the Real Aeroplane Company, an interesting and greatly anticipated collection. Approaching Knottingly, near Pontefract, we were treated to the real sights of the British power industry; the cooling towers of Southern Yorkshires power stations. With the steam slowly rising in the heat and little wind, they were very pretty.

Apparently, Breighton is a notoriously difficult airfield to spot from the air, but knowing that the old RAF base lay just to the North, it was a relatively easy spot. The only confusing part was the distinct lack of RWY definition and markings. Joining on the live side, due to the warning that aerobatics were taking place on the dead side, I joined downwind for RWY 11 grass. The CCT was straightforward enough, although short finals were a little hairy coming in over the hedges. I kept her a little high as I had never visited before, but watching from the ground, some of the locals were extremely close to the hedges and touched down a lot earlier than I managed to.

Only when we were on the ground did we realise that we had landed straight in the middle of the ‘Auster fly in day.’ Strangely enough, they had failed to mention this when calling for PPR and it was not advertised in any of the national press. Anyway, it turned out to be spectacular on more than one front. Just a word of note, landing at Breighton is like flying through a time warp, back to the 1940’s. For me it was amazing, the place has bags of character and was oozing with personality and charm. As soon as we stepped out of VA, we were treated with a very rare and emotional site, a full aerobatic display from a North American P-51D Mustang. This was totally unexpected, and was truly amazing. It was like a personal display, standing right on the RWY, no barriers and no rules about flying over the crowd. With no restrictions on the display, it was a moving performance from one of my personal favourites. I couldn’t have asked for more, it quite simply made the day…

The flight line and hanger displays added to the immense spectacle. Full of Chipmunks, Bucker Jungmeaister’s, Extra 300’s, Piper Super Cub’s and more, there was more then enough to keep the eyes entertained. Further displays from a range of aircraft, we made even more enjoyable by bacon, sausage and egg butties, yum. I must have spent about three hours just staring at the spectacle which was the Mustang, viewing its curves and offerings from within touching distance, but not daring to touch. Unfortunately, we had to leave just after half four, due to the fact that they would not accept card for fuel. Luckily, Sherburn-In-Elmet was only 11 miles away. A short hop later and we were on short finals for Sherburn. This is not one of my favourite GA airfields, due to the ‘factory like’ appearance and feel which it presents. Taking on a full loading of fuel, we departed for Crossland Moor just above Huddersfield. This is one of my favourites. It’s different in every sense. Not only is it located 630ft AMSL, but it is surrounded by quarries, which provide a mixture of varying sink levels… The ‘terminal’, which is actually a static caravan, is great. There’s nothing better than sitting on the terrace outside with a brew watching the planes land on the uphill slope!

After a chat with the locals, and also with the pilot of a Barton based C150, one which I had considered a share in last year, we ‘toured’ the farm strip and found a ‘secret’ hanger. The aircraft here were unreal for a strip of this location and size. Tucked away were a Pitts, a C182 and a wonderful Piper Arrow III. The evening flight back to Barton was pleasant, and I managed to fit in three full stalls and a PFL, these were things which I had been planning on carrying out for the past month and I am glad that I finally had the chance to do so. Unfortunately, the PFL only got down to 700ft AGL due to the presence of an RAF Sea King, which was operating in the local area. As I had visual with it, I thought best to call off the PFL and head back to base.

Arriving OH for RWY 20, the CCT was relatively empty and the approach was well judged, with a nice smooth landing. All in all, it was a remarkable day. It had been a lot more than your average days flying, not that any flying trip is average, but this one had created a life long memory. An excellent, could not have been better time at Breighton, some very nice flying, three land away’s, 2.5 hours PIC, and I even got to practice some emergencies. It just goes to show that the best days come when they are least expected. Jacqueline, my passenger for the day said that 'she had just had the best day in her life', something which the smile on her little face seemed to mirror!

Follow the yellow brick road...

2007-05-30T22:14:00.000Z

Departing Barton just before 11:00, the destination of Welshpool was firmly set in our minds. Despite a last minute report from another departing pilot that rain in the Low Level Route was hampering visibility, I decided to check it out for myself. It turned out that it was fine to proceed down the route, a transiting zone between MCR and LPL Class D airspace. Arriving overhead Oulton Park on the far side, we headed towards Oswestry, and then on towards Welshpool. The flight went without hitch; the only problem was the ever-wondering DI, which had to be realigned with the Magnetic grid ring compass on a frequent basis of not longer than five minutes. At least the FREDA checks were getting done on a regular basis!

Although initially quite a tricky place to spot, landing at Welshpool was straightforward enough, with long finals to RWY 22 established and short finals called adjacent to the town of Welshpool itself. I found myself singing along to the Wizard of Oz's 'follow the yellow brick road' whilst on finals, absolutely bizarre lol... After landing, I was amazed that the fuel was a self-service pump station, something which I had not yet seen in the UK with the high levels of CAA safety legislation. With the fuel now costing an alarming £1.41 per litre at Barton, I brimmed the tanks with a cost of only £1.32 per litre. This also guaranteed a free landing, as we had took on more than 50ltrs.
This was only the second time, which my little princess had ever been up in an aircraft, and I was amazed at how calm she remained, even when I decided to execute a few steep turns. She seems like a natural born flyer, and to be honest, it’s a real pleasure to take her up. A short two-mile walk later, and we were in the town itself for a spot of picnic style alfresco lunch at the canal side. We headed back after spending half an hour and experiencing a lengthy de-tour, searching high and low for the perfect ice-cream lol.

A walk around the hangers led to the discovery of a few remarkable aircraft. One of my favourites, an ‘N’ registered Piper Seneca V was looking stunning in her red and white livery. There was also a heap of commercial traffic, due to the fact that this is ‘apparently’ the mid Wales airport. We also saw one of the funniest signs i have seen in a while. It featured a man preforming illicit acts with a sheep, whilst warning people to take care due to lonely Shepard's. Seeing though we were in Wales, we found this very amusing! After watching a few of the locals do some 'touch and go' CCT’s, we boarded VA and headed to the skies. We saw some fantastic views of low level clouds forming over the peaks of Snowdonia. A short hop later and we were joining the downwind for RWY 27L back at Barton. A greaser of a landing is not the word, it was simply perfect… A mirror image of the day, which also had been perfect, due to the combination of great flying and fantastic company. The day had also allowed me to gain another two hours experience as PIC.

Princess Airlines

2007-05-07T16:51:00.000Z

The day I had been eagerly awaiting, had finally arrived. I would finally get to take my Jacqueline flying. Although the original plan was to fly up to Kirkbride, a number of factors on the day, mainly the hazy conditions, meant that this was no longer feasible. A last minute change of destination to Caernarfon in North Wales, meant that the day was still feasible. Having never been flying before, it was understandable that Jacqueline may have been a little bit nervous. But her relaxed attitude the night before, suggested that she was not too scared. Arriving at Barton earlier than ever, left us plenty of time to do an extended set of external checks and a pre flight briefing. I felt that it would be a good idea to get her involved as much as possible, so I talked her through the walk around checks and explained them in great detail, had her check the fuel levels in the wings and the fuel condition at the drain points. I also felt that it would be beneficial to talk through all of the instruments and their in flight functions. It worked, she said that this helped her feel more relaxed.

Sitting at the end of RWY 27L, the full EFATO brief was given. The ‘go’ or ‘no go’ moment. The take off was obviously going to be the crucial moment. Would she like it or wouldn’t she? It was smooth, very smooth. Leaving it until it was perfectly ready to leave the ground seemed like the best idea. The intercom was filled with a yelp of happiness, a clear sight that she was not scared. Expecting to do a few CCT’s first, I was pleasantly surprised when I she said ‘I love it’ whilst we still in the upwind. Departing immediately, we headed over to Wigan, and the Point of Ayr via Woodvale and Birkenhead. The haze was bad, but the confidence which I had in the compass after the last flight, meant that the conditions were not too much of a problem. Jacqueline took the controls for a ten minute session, managing to execute a number of turns. Arriving at Caernarfon, an overhead join brought us down to CCT height. A smooth landing on the tarmac further helped to settle any remaining nerves. We walked to the beach for a picnic and a sit looking at the sea rushing up and down the shore. Surprisingly, the calls for departure came not from me, but from Jacqueline. It seemed that she could not wait to get back into the air. After an hours delay for fuel, we departed Caernarfon for Mona.

With a fire in a storage factory immediately under the downwind leg, I decided to do a tighter then normal CCT at Mona. With over 2000m of perfectly groomed RAF RWY, I opted to keep the flaps up and carry out a flapless landing, something which I had not done since the days of landing at Brown Airfield in Californai. The approach was fast, but I brought it back and greased the landing. After a quick brew, we departed for Crossland Moor, retracing our initial route, we crossed the coast at Woodvale and tracked inland. For a bit of fun, I climbed to almost 5,000ft and executed a steep descending turn to the right. Thinking this might have been a little bit too extreme, I was amazed when she said ‘wow!’. With Jacqueline on the controls, we flew over Conway and Llandudno. Landing at Crossland was as always, interesting to say the least. Being a warm week, there was a lot of sink directly over the quarry. With it being such a lovely evening, it was very pleasant to sit outside in the sun with a cool drink.

Landing back at Barton was uneventful, apart from the large volumes of traffic in the CCT. Taxiing back to the hanger and shutting the engine down, brought a perfect close to a perfect day. This has been one factor in what became a truly amazing weekend, which left us feeling very very close. If I wasn't sure before hand, then I was now, this girl is perfect and I love her so much. For me, it had been a fabulous day, I had gained some more invaluable hours, completed another four flights and passed the 50 hours PIC point. Jacqueline said she had an amazing day and is looking forward to our next flight. Excellent...

The Mighty Duxford...

2007-04-23T19:34:00.000Z

Having had glorious weather and CAVOK conditions for the past three weeks, It was obvious that the conditions could not last forever. This theory was based on the fact that after all it as only mid April in the UK! With conditions reported to be truing for the worst, remarkably the weather stayed as it had been. Game on…

The plan for today, Saturday 21st April, was to achieve two main aims. Firstly to attend the Cessna fly in day at the mighty Duxford, and secondly to fly enough nautical miles to allow the flight to count for my Commercial Pilots Licence qualifying flight. Although I am sure that there will be other flights which could subsequently count, it is hard to get 300nm in one day of flying, simply due to availability and the shear cost of flying! The CPL qualifying would also mean that another full stop landing would need to be made. Northampton Sywell was the choice in mind. With Vis reported at 5km, Haze was obviously going to be an issue. PAX wise, I had two, my dad and my uncle Dave. Careful not to over weigh VA for Barton’s shorter than standard RWY’s, I filled the tanks to just over two thirds, which I predicted would provide me with enough for the flight to Sywell, and then, regarding on the amount of holding necessary, even to Duxford, with still enough for almost an hour reserve. Crucially it would keep the weight of VA down to a safe 2100lbs. Having requested Barton’s longer RWY 27L/09R, I had 621M of grass to play with.

With these facts set in stone, we departed RWY 27L at Barton for Sywell at 09:30. An upwind departure and levelling off at 1000ft on the MCR ONH, put us straight on course for Warrington, the entry point for the low level corridor between MCR and LPL class D airspace. Emerging at Ashcroft, I turned eastwards, routing over Crewe and Stone. I had chosen a dam on Blithfield Reservoir as a VRP; little did I know just how amazing this looked from the air! Switching from MCR APP to East Midlands APP, the transition past EMA and BHX was made hassle free.

Although Sywell was not the easiest place in the world to find, the non-standard whiter centre line markings made it an interesting and quite simple approach. Joining overhead, I was amazed to see two micro lights already in the CCT with little regard to my 172. In the end, I gave them space and joined downwind very late, turning immediately onto base and long finals. I felt that this was the best option rather then orbit in the overhead, a position where more a/c were rapidly approaching, or block the CCT. I had the faster of the two machines and thought from, a safety issue that it would be better off on the ground in a crowded CCT of people without Radio facilities. A greaser of a landing was met with a rather rough ground surface. The micro light rally at Sywell was clearly under full swing due to the apparent sea of colours taxing across the ground.
After a quick brew, we re-boarded VA for a departure to Duxford for lunchtime. Only one problem, she wouldn’t start, not even a flicker on starter. With the battery fully charged, there was obviously another problem… Phoning the engineers at Barton, I found out that a sticking solenoid was the problem, so armed with an aluminium pole, I hit the solenoid. A turn of the key showed that the engine was now willing to play. Sweet. Thirty minutes later, we were on the downwind at Duxford. From the air, this place looks mighty, an awe-inspiring sight, visible for miles around. The RWY was also the longest which I had up to date had the pleasure of landing upon. Taxing to the GA park was interesting, especially crossing the end of the active grass RWY, which was being simultaneously used by a number of De Havilland Rapide’s and Tiger Moths. Taxing past the American hanger was awe-inspiring, simply due to the architectural wonder of the complex curvature building. After a picnic under the wing of VA, we toured the museum.

For those who have not had the pleasure of visiting Duxford, it is the home of the Imperial War Museum and what a home it is. There are seven hangers full of delights, a few of which house fully flying war birds, including the resident B-17 ‘Sally B’. The other hangers include a mixture of old and new, from the likes of the Stearman, all the way up to the mighty B-52 Stratofortress. My personnel favourite as always, was the impressive English Electric Lightning. The only interceptor ever to have been capable of achieving and maintaining vertical flight for an indefinite period of time. Spectacular. A missile with wings! The ground warfare museum is also of particular interest, to show the contrast between what its like to fight on the ground flying through the air at Mach 2.

With the afternoon quickly coming to a close, Barton was calling… Refuelling was novel; due to the fact hat it was achieved via a hoser truck and the fact that at £1.37 per litre, brimming VA was expensive to say the least! The radio was very unorganised on the part of Duxford, and holding times of twenty minutes were experienced by some departures. The flight back was uneventful and spot on in every way imaginable. Transiting Sywell through the overhead at 2500ft QNH, it was obvious that they were still extremely busy! Returning back to Barton via the route which took me to Duxford, I approached on long finals for RWY 09R. Orbiting 5nm off the airfield in order to let a late downwind joiner land first, the strong crosswind meant that a crab approach was very necessary, being almost 30 degrees to the RWY at one particular point, swinging her around and touching down fast, but securely.

The day been great, with no problems experienced apart from the solenoid issue. With the length of the legs and the overall flight being longer than usual, I had decided pre-flight, that the ‘word’ of the day would be compass. I therefore used primarily the grid ring magnetic compass, and visual references as a secondary method, merely in order to check that the wind vectors were correct. Pre-flight planning had shown that the wind, from the South West was 20kts at 1000ft, rising to 25kts at 2000ft. Clearly, this would greatly affect the original of our generally East-West and West-East HDG’s! Using the compass in this flight greatly increased the trust exists between me and this piece of kit.

Exams... and the first of what will hopefully be many...

2007-04-18T21:00:00.000Z

Well tonight I completed my first two mock ATPL examination papers for Oxford Aviation. Instrumentation Part One and Principles of Flight Part One. Expecting them to be difficult, I wasn't surprised when they were, although 75 percent of the questions were pleasantly manageable, some of the others were not so manageable. Nothing that a little hard work could not get around. Anyway, with the results emailed to OAT, planning for Saturday's flight could commence. The plan is to combine the Duxford Cessna fly in day with the 300nm qualifying flight for my Commercial Pilot's Licence. This will also require another land away, at Northampton Sywell aerodrome, where a microlight rally will ensure a free landing. Carrying two passengers, my dad and my uncle, the day at Duxford will include a tour around the museum and the historic WWII control centres, the heart of the Battle of Britain.

Looking forwards to the month of May, I have two biigy flights planned. Firstly on the Saturday 5th May, I am planning to take my wonderful new partner, Jacqueline flying. This will be her first time ever in an aeroplane of any kind, so it should be a memorable day on all fronts. I know for me it will be one of the biggest flights up to date in a number of ways, but most importantly due to the fact that I am looking forwards to taking the new woman in my life up into the skies. Im sure she will be fine, and no damage will be done, well hopefully nothing that a few kisses and snuggles wont fix lol... The plan is to just test the water at first, but if all goes well, then fly up to Carlisle and Kirkbride, via an overhead pass of her house near Lancaster and a low level route across the Lake District, including the camp site where we met. The destination of Kirkbride will play host for a romantic picnic on the Scottish border, before returning back to Barton. I cant wait.

The second bank holiday in May will play host to another flight, my first time over to East Anglia, with Alan, Sarah and Chris. This will undoubtedly be another fun day, but also quite challenging due to the large amounts of MATZ's around the area in question. Apparently, the destination is either Seething or Shipden, but as of yet I have not received my pre-flight briefing. All in all, it looks like a month of new and exciting things is on the cards...

A summers evening

2007-04-05T21:31:00.000Z

Since the flight on Saturday, the weather had been glorious all week. This is totally out of character for the UK in March. Sitting in work on Wednesday morning, I realised that i had to go flying at some point today. The only problem with realising this fact, is that once you have admitted to yourself that you need to fly, its like an illness has been realised into your body. An illness which urges the day to go quicker, until you can climb into the cockpit and once again feel the elation of flying...

Until this day, I don't actually believe that I have ever ran home from work! The traffic jam on the way to Barton was agonising, painfully slow. The therapy to cure 'the illness' was so near, yet so far... A quick walk round check and the accumulation of fuel, meant that both me, my dad and VA were ready to go. Until now, I have never really met anybody involved in GA who was extremely arrogant and out right rude. But after meeting the gentleman who insisted in waiting in his running aircraft (you know who you are if you ever read this!), I realised just how wrong I had been.

With Huddersfield Crossland Moor as the specified destination, we made a brief take off and downwind departure from RWY 27R. Crossland Moor is a strange little airfield, although I do believe that 'little' may not be the correct word, seeing as the actual physical dimensions of the RWY are larger than anything which Barton has to offer! The surface itself occupies a slight uphill slope, starting on tarmac, before turning to grass over the crescent of the hill. With a quarry at the lower end of the RWY, and a reservoir at the upper, landing is interesting to say the least! The parking areas are on the border, or possibly even inside the local residents back gardens. Simply put, it isn't your standard airfield. (The photo at the end highlight the surface conditions perfectly!). It is also perhaps one of the least recognisable airfields that I so far visited (well apart from Barton lol). The club house, a caravan has the addition of 'Welcome to Huddersfield International!'

After a quick brew, it was back to Barton. Flying back over the moors was a pleasant experience, which was made a little less so by the ever increasing presence of haze. But, what can be expected on a summers evening, when the pollution of the local cities fills the atmosphere? I let my dad fly most of the way back, which meant that a few medium level turns were added into the equation. For some reason, I actually turned down a base leg join in favour of an overhead join. Whether I am going slightly mad in my increasing age, I am not sure. All i know is that I wanted to keep the pressure on myself. Personally, I don't believe in taking the easy route when the more challenging route gets you to the same place and in most cases potentially provides a greater sense of achievement.

100 Hours...

2007-04-05T20:54:00.000Z

After just having a new cylinder fitted, VA needed a good running in. A process which would require a normal climb and departure, before reducing the power to 75%, which worked out at around 2100RPM for the first hour of flight and then varying between 65-75% power, between 1800-2100RPM for the second hour of flight. Realistically, this was not a problem, all it meant was that another element of workload was placed upon my mind. The route taken would therefore have to accommodate for a flight time of at least two hours. I decided to stay out of the vicinity of controlled airspace, just in case a problem did develop and we potentially became a hazard to other aircraft operating in the area. The route was set, the Lake District it was. The plan was to track North West from Barton towards Wigan, before turning North to Lancaster via Preston. A quick hop over Morcombe Bay would lead us to Grange-over-Sands, our low level entry point to the Lakes and beyond. Tracking along Windermere, we would then turn around Ambleside and return via the Northern tip of Coniston Water and Walney Island, before crossing a stretch of the Irish Sea and then tracking the coast down via Blackpool, Woodvale and Walney. The final leg would see VA turn Eastwards towards Wigan and then return to Barton. Apart from the obvious ATZ's around Barton, Blackpool, Woodvale and Walney, the only controlled airspace in the vicinity of the flight path, would be the TMA's of Manchester and Liverpool.

Arriving at Barton at 08:30 was a necessity due to the fore casted strong winds and reduced vis which the afternoon could bring. Taking off at 09:00, the flight went spot onto plan. The weather was great, very warm with little cloud below 3000ft and very light winds. The only problems experienced were by the ever increasing haze, which was apparent on the return via Walney. Not having the full power of the Continental engine, meant that we could not venture as far up into the Lakes as I would have liked to, due to the obvious problems of altitude. Anyway, the top and bottom of it is, that the engine performed nicely and after the two hours of running in had passed, I opened her up and once again felt the full power available under the hood. Its amazing how much power 2500RPM actually gives, when you have been flying around on 1800-2100RPM for the previous two hours.

A smooth landing back at Barton, via an overhead join for RWY 09, led to the end of the three hour test flight. The wind had just picked up to a noticeable force, but still nothing that could not be handled. Although this had technically been a test flight, to me it felt more than this. It was another fantastic opportunity to experience the beauty of the English countryside and the thrills of flying across different terrains. Today was also a milestone in my personnel flying career, due to the fact that i passed the 100 hours total time mark. It is amazing just how close to you these areas are, when you are able to fly...

The Arrival...

2007-03-16T22:50:00.000Z

For those of you who don't already know, I have now enrolled at Oxford Aviation Training in order to complete my ATPL Distance Learning course and the subsequent flying training which will one day lead to me holding a CPL ME/IR. Although I did want to carry out this training at the Pilot Training College of Ireland at Waterford Intl Airport, after lacklustre correspondence from them, due to the fabulous postal service, I switched my attention to OAT. Not only have they got the experience and the reputation, but it is a lot closer to my home, something which i feel is important in such a career defining moment.

Today was the day, the ATPL study material has arrived, courtesy of Transair Pilot Shop. Fourteen manuals, a Jepp Student En route guide, a questions and answers CD Rom and a bundle of practice exams and a stack of notes. All in all, all the material needed for some serious revision sessions. Flying is my dream and at the moment my life revolves around the fascinating awe, also known as deifying gravity...

First Flight of the Mummy...

2007-03-06T21:53:00.000Z

Having spent most of the prior week planning for this flight, I was eager to get airborne. Taking my mum up for the first time, I was excited and looking forwards to the day. She too was excited, and had been telling everyone who would listen about it all week! The route decided upon would be to route via Barton to Caernarfon via Formby. After a lunch break we would hop over to Mona on Anglesey, before returning to Barton via the North Wales coast and an overhead zone transit over Hawarden, the home of Airbus UK.

Boarding a fuelled up VA just after midday, we were quick to take-off on RWY 27R. After requesting an extended upwind departure, we headed over Wigan towards Formby. After contacting Blackpool, I was quickly forwarded to Woodvale, who similarly forwarded me to Liverpool App. who gave me a FIS. It seemed for a moment that nobody wanted to talk to me! My mum made the comment of the day, when she said is that Manchester? (When referring to Liverpool), and what lake is that? (When looking at the Irish Sea)! Having not been up in a light aircraft, she did not realise just how fast 100kts was. A pleasant trip across Liverpool Bay and then Colwyn Bay was accompanied with a few climbing turns and Wingovers (I wish). Being asked to join overhead for RWY 26, it was only then that I realised just how beautiful the area surrounding the aerodrome is. I mean transiting the Menai Straits at 1200ft is spectacular, but looking straight up the Llanberis pass and the valleys of Snowdonia brought back memories of times gone by, along with wonderful feelings of just how stunning the UK’s National Parks are.

A tasty lunch of BLT with chips, and a stroll along the local beach made me realise how lucky I am to be able to fly to another part of the country for the afternoon. A feeling which was multiplied firstly by viewing a local pilot carrying out touch and go’s and secondly by watching an Aztec depart and a Chieftain arrive from Eire, apparently for essential maintenance work. Minutes before departing, we decided to visit Mona, an asphalt strip in the centre of Anglesey, owned by the RAF and used as an overflow RWY for Valley. A local flying club run the base at evenings and weekends for flying training. The surface conditions were perfect, as was everything else about the base. We were the only aircraft visiting and apart from a local flight, the only aircraft manoeuvring at all. This was paradise, and perhaps my favourite place I have yet visited. Another benefit was that the landing cost a mere five pounds, and even this included a free drink. The club had an impressive picture of a local instructor flying underneath the span of the Britannia Bridge! At only 30m tall, this seems like a rather impressive and most probably adrenaline pumping feat!

After an enjoyable flight back along the North Welsh coast at 145 Kts. I knew the tailwind was strong, but I could not actually believe this until I switched on the VOR DME and tuned into Wallasey to see the figure appear on the screen. Even though the journey back over Hawarden and via the Low Level Corridor was technically longer then the outbound route, the distance en-route was immensely short. Another gentle landing at Barton finished off a brilliant flight. Having clocked up just under three hours PIC today I was absolutely and utterly exhausted. My mum said that she had an amazing day and had really enjoyed the experience. For me, it was another day of what I like doing the most, flying, pure and simple.

The dawn of a new era... The ATPL's!!!

2007-02-21T21:57:00.000Z

Today, Wednesday 21st February was the start of a new era, the continuation of Pilot Marky's flying onto a new level... The road to the ATPL had been opened...

Passing the Airline Transport Pilots Licence exams (ATPL), are a requirment to be issued with the Joint Aviation Authorities Commercial Pilot Licence with Multi Engined Instrument Rating (JAA CPL ME/IR). The ultimate of ultimates. Consisting of fourteen written exams and a mountain of revising and learning, the exams will without a doubt be the largest hurdle so far. I decided to enroll on the distance learning course offered by the Pilot Training College of Ireland in Waterford. Known for its professional status and facilities, the college will hopefully be a great block on to which I can build my flying career. Based at home, I will study as many hours a day as I can and hopefully within six months to a year, I will have completed the exams. Both stages one and two, which each contain seven modules need to be completed. The exams will be sat in Dublin at the IAA, Irish Aviation Authority. Only after these are passed successfully, will my flying for the CPL ME/IR progress.

There is no doubt that they will be hard, both in a sense of commitment and talent, but I am personally ready for the challenge. I know that my heart is in the right place, and my desire and commitment is unquestioned. The studying will bring back memories of my PPL course at KSEE, where for me, ground school occured from early in the morning until late into the night...

To Lancaster and Back

2007-02-21T21:18:00.000Z

After constantly checking the weather for the weekend ahead for the majority of the proceeding week, I was amazed to wake up to blue skies and relativly clear skies. Desperatly wishing that I had not gone out the night before, I patiently waited for my hang over to depart, so that Victor Alpha could too depart with myself as PIC. Finally pulling her out of the hanger and onto the pan at 14.00HRS on Saturday, we got ready to depart. My able minded friend Jonathon was the co pilot for today. The plan was to depart Barton on RWY 27R and proceed over to Formby, before routing up the coast abeam Blackpool and up to Lancaster, before turning and tracking the M6 back to Barton. A route which was quickly becoming common nature to me. But due to the dangers associated with becoming complacent, every turning point and VRP was still double checked againt the CAA 1:250 000 VFR chart.

The only major problem today was the consistent and at times often problematic hazey conditions which were present around Barton and parts of the North West coast. Today also seemed to attact a hive of GA, Blackpool Appr. being inundated with incoming R/T. After being told that the area was alive with both reported and unreported A/C, we proceeded with extreme caution. Several aircraft passed overhead at less then 1000ft but this was little problem.

After a fun but uneventful flight, we retuned past winter hill and over Bolton. Strangly we had a Grob trainer from Barton right on our starboard wing tip on approach to the overhead position. As he was too close for my liking and had no clear intention of moving I opted for a right base leg join, which was quickly approved by the FISO who had seen the arrising problem. There were nine A/C in the CCT, four of which were on finals! To stop a go around occuring, I decided to take the lead and preform an S-turn over the Trafford Centre, something which although not part of the JAA training I had picked up whilst at KSEE. We were still numnber four and when number three broke away for a go around, we slipped it in and although we were 200ft high on short finals, carried out a nice landing. I had kept it high as to be honest it was 50/50 whether a landing would take place. All in all a solid, well executed flight.

France... The final frontier... Marky's log fly date August 2007...

2007-02-17T11:39:00.000Z

Caernarfon...

2007-02-12T22:10:00.000Z

Flying… Again… For the second time in one weekend! Wow! After the success of yesterday’s flight, I was eager to get back into the saddle and fly again. Rising early at eight o’clock, I was down heartened to see the usual story with the weather, which threatened a wet and gloomy day. Luckily for me, as the morning wore on, the blue skies rolled on in… Driving to Barton like a madman, I decided to route over to Caernarfon, on the North West coast of Wales. VA was still gleaming from its check and just as eager as me to get up. Even with ¾ tanks of AVGAS but once again flying on my own, VA took off like a rocket, utilising less than half of Barton’s unusually (lol I wish!) 530m RWY 27R. Although it would actually be nice to have someone who wanted to come flying, I don’t mind going on my own. Before I got my licence I always thought that I would have que’s of people who deeply lusted to come with me, but surprisingly this is not the case…

Departing the CCT I headed for Wigan, then over to Woodvale before shooting across Liverpool Bay at 1200ft amsl. Due to the high levels of visibility on the day, I decided to fly across Colwyn Bay rather than to hug the coast. Although this put my track well over open water it seemed like a good idea, albeit probably not the most sensible without a life jacket! R/T was the highlight of the day. To be honest, I can’t remember a period of longer than three minutes when I didn’t speak to a new or a pre-existing ground station. The list which included Barton, Blackpool App, Woodvale, Liverpool App, Valley MATZ, London FIR, Caernarfon, Hawarden App and finally Manchester App just seemed to keep on growing… In reality this made the flight go extremely quickly and helped my communication skills greatly.

Being the first landing on tarmac since I was last at Caernarfon in early December, and only one of a handful since the days at KSEE, it was a greaser. Landing on the hard stuff is something I miss and it is nice to brush up my skills once in a while. The main point was that due to Barton requiring short field approaches, I had VA stopped on the deck within 400m, which led to a very long taxi down the length of the active! The return leg saw a speedy takeoff into a developing mist. Rather than sit on the ground I felt it best to do a CCT and assess the conditions before deciding whether to turn back and land or press home to Barton. In the end I choose the later option and although the conditions did deteriorate further until Bangor, where Vis was well down below what I prefer, it rapidly increased over Colwyn Bay to well over 9999 with crystal blue skies. The only other adverse weather I experienced was severe turbulence approaching Hawarden overhead. Could well be explained due to the presence of the power stations cooling towers close to Chester?

It was lovely to see Chester from the air, being a city I recently visited and enjoyed. A short leg over to Oulton Park racecourse and then up the low level corridor led me back onto the home straight. After announcing my presence to Man App, I kept a listening watch on the freq to hear that they had an emergency and that the active would be shut for at least quarter of an hour. I have spent most of today wondering what this emergency actually was! All in all, a fantastic flight. Although my head was still racing all night due to the sheer workload of the flight, it was undoubtedly one of my best ever flights. On an aviation level, it could not have gone more according to plan. On a personal level, I just wish that I had someone who was close to me that I could share all the joys and experiences with…

Episode Two... Marky Strikes Back...

2007-02-11T09:03:00.000Z

Today was the day of days, the time of times. The first flight after five weeks of bad weather, bad luck and having to keep my feet on the ground. The best part about it was that it was completely unexpected. Only at 11AM did I decide to go up. A break in the weather and the availability of VA meant that a flight was possible. VA, just emerging from its 50HR chx was looking sparkly clean, even the interior smelt like polish! Ill admit it now, I was nervous due to the time which had passed since the last time I was airborne, but the moment I climbed into VA and switched over the magnetos I once again felt at home. Gaining, 60L of AVGAS, I taxied along the very damp Bravo taxiway to RWY 09L. Although I was alone, it was what I wanted today in order to feel at ease with the aircraft and not have to worry about any passengers.

Calculating that it would be just after 2 o’clock when I took off, I had decided to route over to Formby, on the North West coast, then up to Blackpool and Fleetwood, before turning over Lancaster and heading back down to Barton. A flight roughly just under two hours in time. In reality, it took two hours and five minutes, as Blackpool App. insisted that I hold over Marsh Side VRP until their traffic, a 737 had landed. This was actually a pleasant experience, as I got to see the approach and landing, whilst being able to practice my 45-degree steep turns! With improving visibility the further North I got, I was able to see a large number of ships departing both Fleetwood and Heysham. The wake which they leave on a lifeless sea is amazing when viewed from the air!

The chosen turning point of Lancaster was emotional, as it was the first time that my Mum, Dad and godparents had seen me flying from the perspective of the ground. They had walked from their yacht at Glasson into Lancaster and were stood on the ramparts of the Castle to see me pass by. After a few passes, I headed back south to Barton. The highlight of the return trip was seeing Winter Hill in its full glory, the top half of which was covered in snow. Approaching Barton, I was given the option of a standard overhead join or a left base join. For reasons of practicality and because I like to make things difficult for myself, I opted for the former. Lower than expected cloud meant that I had to make the overhead at 1700 instead of 1800ft, but as CCT’s at Barton are flown at 1000ft, there was still plenty of vertical separation. On short finals I found myself too high, and with only one person on boards, VA did not want to descend too rapidly! Instead of over reacting, I decided to put on full flaps earlier then normal, and gently brought her home for a smooth touchdown. After having a laugh with the duty firemen and the operations staff, I departed Barton, full of glee and excitement after today, and with all of my fingers crossed that the weather would keep for tomorrow, when I had originally planned to fly…

Episode One... A New Hope???

2007-02-11T09:02:00.000Z

Having booked the Friday of work, and not having flown for nearly five weeks, I was eager to get up and roam the skies. Unfortunately, mid week news hit me hard, like a blow to the stomach. Although it was common knowledge that VA was having it s 50HR chxs, the news that there was significant corrosion on the flap mechanism and also on the rudder and elevator came as a surprise to us all. Although it was not a financially demanding or labour intensive job to repair VA in time for Friday, it did mean that the chances of flying were slim to say the least. Having already rearranged my day off upon hearing the news and the undesirable weather forecast, I suffered a further blow to hear that after the wind was stripped and sprayed with an anti-corrosive spray, VA was reassembled and ready to go by Friday lunch. Thus meaning that flying would have been a viable option!

With Friday turning out to be a day of average but perfectly flyable weather, one could not help but feel disheartened. But, with a change in wind direction forecasted, bringing milder conditions over the later course of the weekend, flying is once again on the cards. A trip to Caernarfon could be on the cards for Sunday morning. Having been so tantalisingly close over the past few weeks, but never once being lucky enough to catch the right weather conditions and get my feet off the ground, I personally cant think of a more pleasant experience. With that in mind, I guess its fingers crossed that the skies don’t decide to empty their contents over Barton’s beautifully grassed (lol) RWY’s before Pilot Marky can once again take to the skies…

Maverick & Iceman reunited.. What out France here we come...

2007-02-06T19:54:00.000Z

The demise of Marky and Sammy will hopefully be positive on one front, by being the start of brighter things and more focussed flying. It has now been transformed into an all male experience, shared by myself and Matt, a.k.a. ‘Maverick and Iceman’. Although the original road trip style plan of touring France has been greatly built upon and generally expanded to a much larger scale, the basic principles of the original idea sill remain. These are to take VA over to the continent and explore, explore and explore some more! This will hopefully offer a wider variety of experience, mainly on an aviation level, but also on the more general cultural and social levels. The plan is to spend the days flying and the nights in bed and breakfasts. That is unless we are lucky enough to meet some beautiful rural farm girls who don’t understand a word of English and merely fall for our good looks and charisma… best get booking the BnB’s early then I guess!!! The encounters with different kinds of weather systems, airfield layouts, air traffic operations and will hopefully provide a pleasurable, albeit perhaps sometimes stressful experience, whilst greatly increasing our knowledge of the trade.

By the time August arrives, we both will have been qualified pilots for almost a year. The journey will hopefully begin on Monday 30th July, when we depart Barton for Sandown, Isle of Wight, routing through a variety of Class D controlled airspace and MATZ’s along the way. This will be the first scheduled fuel stop, both for VA and for us along with the last footing on English soil until we return. The plan is to then fly on to Clamecy, in the Bourgogne region of France. Being a small grass airstrip, the skills used to land should be similar to those required at Barton. Although it is hoped that the weather will be slightly better! This will be out first overnight resting spot. The plan for day two is to plod on to Marseilles, in the Provence region, where the looming international airport should require some very different techniques during both the approach and landing stages of the journey. Should be interesting! Apparently some of the approaches bring you in right over the Mediterranean! Wow! Day three will see us route from Marseilles to Nice on the Cote D’Azur, a place of luxury and hopefully plentiful sunshine. Fingers crossed that we will get to test the sea as well as the food.

The next leg of the trip will be the longest and most enduring flight of the journey, flying from Nice to La Rochelle, the Atlantic seaport and provincial capital of the Charente-Maritime region. Due to the fact that I prefer to have at least one hour of reserve fuel left in the tanks upon shutdown, it will be necessary to stop along this 386NM stretch in order to fuel VA. Although the exact place of choice has not yet been decided, I believe that the chosen airfield will lie within the Limousin region. After rest and recuperation in La Rochelle, we will track up North along the Atlantic Coast towards Ouessant, a small island off the coast of Brest in Western Bretagne. This island, which apparently gets very busy during the summer months is home to a national local sized airport, and should provide an interesting treat of the famous Bretagne seafood! Yummy!

Upon leaving Ouessant, we will most likely track towards St Mary’s on the Isles of Scilly, where we will utilise the short and reportedly bumpy RWY’s in order to revel in the natural beauties which surround the islands. They are some of the most beautiful areas around the UK and for me, this will be one of the highlights of the trip. Due to the lack of fuel on offer at St Mary’s, we will be forced to route via either Perranporth in Cornwall or more likely to Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire for a splash n’ dash of the old AVGAS, before continuing up towards Caernarfon on the North Welsh coast. This is one of my favourite airfields, due to the combination of its rugged nature on the tip of a spit of land, which is almost fully surrounded when the tide is fully in, and the beautiful approaches, which bring you in over the Irish Sea. The trip will be completed by a short, (in comparison to the preceding flights!) leg back across Northern Wales, with either a zone transit through Hawarden and a shoot up the Low Level Corridor to Barton, or routing up and around Liverpool airspace via Formby and Wigan back towards Barton, the resting place of VA.

Although we have planned the journey for seven days, we do have a few buffer days in case the weather decides to turn nasty and force us to take cover from its ferocious nature. If we are not forced to utilise these days, then who knows, the world is our oyster… well admittedly yes, but much more likely to happen is a day trip Navigation exercise to the Lake District or the Isle of Man! All in all, this should be the most enthralling, entertaining, yet challenging journeys of my flying career. But, it is one, which I am looking forwards to with an open mind and bags of bottomless enthusiasm! Bring on August!

VA Top Gun Style!!!

2007-02-04T23:45:00.000Z

Heres the beauty looking like something taken straight out of Top Gun, which would make me Maverick??? Well I can live with that!!!

Weekend take two???... Could this be the day???...

2007-02-04T19:18:00.002Z

For thousands of people nationwide, Sunday proved to be a more fore filling day for GA. For me personally, it was no better than yesterday. Rising early at 8AM and being at Barton by 9AM along with my ever keen and wiling passenger Jonathon, we eagerly awaited a flight, but in the back of our minds knew that there was little chance of this occurring. Although the fog had lifted, we only had VA until 11AM, when another group member had already booked it. Although vis to the North, North East and East was all the 9’s, to the West it was reported to be less than 4Km and into the sun, it was reported as IMC. The 4Km was no problem, but the IMC warning rang alarm bells in my head, especially after the tragedy at Blackpool last night. As PIC, I decided we would knock it on the head and stand down. Instead we spent most of the morning recording others take off. And take off they did! When the vis improved at least six aircraft took to the skies in less than 6 minutes off the by now very battered looking RWY 27R. The weatehr for the rest of the day was now Vis well in excess of all the 9's, no significant weather and no wind at all. What a day to miss! Having not flown for four whole weeks now and being lucky enough to have next Friday off work, I am eagerly awaiting my next flight. With VA booked next Friday and Sunday for both full days, one can only hope that the weather improves and that the forecasted heavy snow, does not actually arrive!!!

...Deepest Condolences

2007-02-04T19:18:00.001Z

I would just like to take a minute to point out that the Piper PA28 crash off the Fylde coast last night was a shocking event. Although the pilot reported that he was low on fuel to Blackpool Approach, it has emerged that he tried to land before making a go around. It was only upon this go around that he was lost from radar contact. The bodies of the two airmen have been recovered inside the cockpit of the wreckage. I have met many people from the Blackpool flying club, and I can only hope that those people I have been lucky enough to meet were not involved in the accident. My heart goes out to their families, their friends and the ATC members involved, as do my deepest condolences. ATC at Blackpool have always been nothing but friendly, welcoming and helpful to myself. This was a dramatic tragedy; an event, which I am sure will haunt the minds of many for years to come...

Could this be the day???... Dont be silly its a Saturday!!!

2007-02-04T19:16:00.000Z

After today I am left with two lingering questions… Firstly, is the weather sent to test me? And secondly, why are the joys of flying such hard work to come by? Ok granted it is February, but when you rise early and look outside to see blue skies, no wind and nothing but vapour trails and sunshine you would expect to get airborne. With the prospect of my first flight in four weeks, a long trip over to the East Coast via three aerodromes, I was eagerly anticipating a great day. Along with my friend Jonathon, I was shocked and amazed to see that Barton was reporting 100M Vis in freezing fog. Still, off we drove to the airfield only to meet this fog, which only seemed to be lingering within a three-mile radius of the airfield. The frustrating thing is that the fog only existed here. Even more frustrating was the fact that the likes of Cessna’s and Piper’s could be heard above the airfield, quite possibly transiting Eastwards from Liverpool and Blackpool to hours of joy and fruitful flying. Being a Saturday, the fog didn’t want to lift and even got thicker as the day went on. Even a subway from the Trafford Centre didn’t help the feeling of emptiness, which was filling my stomach. Still, not to be defeated we hung around until well after 15.00HRS in case it decided to life, as last landing was set at just before 17.00HRS.

Even thought the weather put short ends to our means of getting airborne, the day was still a laugh and actually turned into quite a fun day. I ended up showing/teaching Joni all about the various instruments and their subsequent functions in both flight and on the ground. I also got some valuable details for the up and coming trip to France with my friend and budding pilot Matt from Norway (more details on that to be posted soon!!!). Hopefully, tomorrow morning will be more eventful, but with the fog now starting to settle everywhere, the chances of getting airborne are slim and descending. Any flight that will take place will have to be before 11AM, as VA is currently booked after that until well into the afternoon. Bring on summer, sunshine and the limitless amounts joy, which comes with flying!

Another Day of disappointment.

2007-01-29T19:31:00.001Z

It just goes to show that no matter how much pre flight planning you do, the weather still has the power to decide whether or not you fly. In true British fashion, the skies were generally CAVOK all week whilst I was in work, then cloudy as hell on Saturday and windy to say the least on Sunday before returning to there usual pre weekend self on Monday morning. Although technically the weather did slightly improve to allow take off and departure in a relatively cloud free enironment (below 1100ft anyway lol), I decided to give it a miss for two reasons. Firstly, flying for flying’s sake wasn’t what I wanted today and secondly I just split up with my partner upon leaving the airfield. Flying with emotional baggage just didn’t seem like an intelligent thing to do. Although it is kind of depressing not being able to get up, there are a few trips in the pipeline, with a summer bash in Florida being the most recent of my ideas.

The Big adventure - France - July 2007.

2007-01-29T19:30:00.001Z

The basic plan is to fly Victor Alpha from Barton to Northern France for a length of time numbering between one and two weeks. There is the plan. Now hopefully the reality will not differ to greatly to this plan, but knowing the weather and significant other factors, mainly reliability the plan will most probably change. This will be the first time, apart from the time spent completing my PPL in Cali, that I have flown outside of UK controlled territory, and certainly the first time I have flown over international borders. Am I scared? No, in fact I can’t wait. I am quite looking forwards to the challenge which flying in another country, where airspace classifications differ and the view on GA is well much more favourable than it is in the UK.

Although I have booked two weeks off work, I don’t expect that the trip will last for that long, I merely want a few buffer days in order to allow for the weather. Yes, even though it will be late July, it still rains a lot. Oh the joys of living in England! The fact that I am planning the trip with Sam, means that I will have no one to share the load of flying with, which should not be a problem firstly because I enjoy it and love every second of it and secondly because the legs planned are for the large part small enough to cover without the need to refuel, i.e. around four hours.

The first leg will see Victor Alpha depart Barton with a destination of Sandown in the Isle of Wight, where we will refuel, rest and then commence a same day departure to Toussus Le Noble on the outskirts of Paris. The plan is to spend a couple of days here in order to relish the joys of this wonderful city. The third leg is planned to be from Toussus Le Noble to Boon, near Rouen in order to spend a day in the legendary city where Joan of Arc was brutally burnt alive at the stake. The next leg will end at Bretteville just outside Caen. Again, this stopover will involve a slice of local history, due to the proximity of the D-Day beaches. From here, we plan to fly to Lannion near St. Brieuc in order to enjoy the wild Northern Coast of Brittany. The small airfield on the island of Ouessant will be the last stopover in France, before (weather permitting) we return Victor Alpha to UK territory via St Mary’s on the Isles of Scilly. Having flown over these in a 767 last year, it will be different to view them from a much lower altitude, before experiencing the local delights and hopefully (temperature permitting) taking a dip in the sea. The next planned destination is Haverfordwest on the Pembrokeshire Coast, visiting one of our favourite holiday destinations, St David’s Head. This will surely be an emotional time for the both of us. The return journey to Barton will commence of a stop off at Caernarfon, before flying over Snowdonia and entering the low level corridor to transit Manchester/Liverpool controlled airspace.

The January blues.

2007-01-29T19:29:00.004Z

Apart from flight to Lancaster at the start of the month, January has been a month of fruitless pickings. This has one hundred percent been due to the weather. Although the Vis, wind and prevailing conditions have not necessarily made flying impossible, the fact that Barton is a grass airfield has. In fact, although the weather has been poor on many occasions, the days of perfect flying weather directly following the fronts have been unusable due to the fact that the airfield was still recovering from the heavy downpours. There has even been snow this week, which for the last couple of years has been unseen in Manchester. Finally though, the weather looks promising for this Saturday, the 27th January. With little wind, no rain and generally more mild conditions than we have recently witnessed forecasted by the met man, one can only cross their fingers and hope. Having a number of potential flight plans created, mainly for Caernarfon, Huddersfield, York and Blackpool, I am all ready to go. Victor Alpha only has another 4.5 hours to go until its 50 hour check is due, with my luck in aircraft approaching their checks, fingers crossed everything goes to plan!

The first of 2007.

2007-01-29T19:29:00.003Z

Having already mentally prepared myself for the kind of weather, which January normally has attached to it, it was a nice surprise to be able to fly on Saturday 6th January. Although the light rain which was falling when we arrived at Barton and pulled the aircraft out of its hanger, could well have spelled the end to operations at an already water sodden grass airfield, it failed to put a damper on our day. Although we initially aimed to visit Huddersfield Crossland Moor, Sherburn-In-Elmet and Breighton, the low cloud over the Pennines quickly put a stop to these ideas. Instead, similarly to the last flight I made in Victor Alpha, we tracked across to Formby and then up past Blackpool to Lancaster and then back towards Barton for a base leg join and perhaps the smoothest landing to date on grass. Although the Vis was not perfect, the flight was interesting, and the sights along the way managed to occupy my passengers.

The North West Coast.

2007-01-29T19:29:00.001Z

Having to work the week in between Christmas and New Year was obviously far from the ideal situation, but Friday 29th December brought a nice little surprise. Having been sat in work all morning looking gloomily at the clear skies and better than average conditions, wondering why god hated me this much to make me work, my boss decided to let us go home early. Feeling like Christmas had come all over again, I quickly arrived at Barton with my Dad, (This was to be his first trip in Victor Alpha, or indeed in a light aircraft with me as PIC). Departing Barton, we headed East to Formby and then followed the coast up past Woodvale (Where I had started my flight training, and indeed compiled over 30 hours as a member of the UAS based there) towards Blackpool. Although normally being told to hold around Marsh Side VRP would have been a hindrance, the fact that we got a prime viewing position to see a 737 come in from long finals to land at Blackpool made it more than acceptable on this occasion. Flying overhead Blackpool and up the Flyde coast gives spectacular views of the Tower and the Big One, before arriving at Fleetwood and hoping over to Glasson Dock, where my dad keeps his yacht. A short leg across to the M6 and then back to Barton with a base leg join and a smooth landing finished the flight off nicely. Not bad for a day when I was meant to be working in the office!

A fruitless Christmas time?

2007-01-29T19:27:00.002Z

Flying and December just do not seem to want to harmoniously walk hand in hand. The weather seems to pick the days when I am not in work to be at its worst. But, not to be put off by a stiff wind and dark looming skies I did manage to squeeze a few flights from victor alpha. An attempt to reach Carlisle on the 23rd December turned into nothing, when its was clear that the looming low level cloud around Lancaster would spell an end to VMC flying any further North of Kendal. Although this was a shame, it was half expected due to the prevailing conditions of the day, which saw scattered cloud lying at 1000ft agl over Barton. Similar conditions were met on Sunday 24th, when I took Sammy along with my brother Andrew up for his first experience in a light aircraft. A flight around the edge of Manchester airspace up to Rochdale and then over towards Leeds was again brought to an abrupt end due to low-level cloud hanging around the M62 valley. What was remarkable though, was that we even in the overcast sky I managed to find a large cloudless potion of sky to climb above 3000ft and see the tops of the clouds and a brief glimpse of the sunshine above. This fuelled my desire to become Instrument rated, so that this site would become more and more frequent on days like today.

My Own Cessna (Well a share in one at least) - First solo flight in VA!

2007-01-29T19:27:00.001Z

The desire to fly and be airborne was the primary motivation behind my drive to buy a share. At 130 pounds an hour, hiring an aircraft from the local flying club was out of the question. Instead my own share looked promising. I decided upon a share in the Cessna 172, which I had recently been flying. It was the new Zulu Papa! Even at this early stage it was clear that I would come to love this aircraft, not only as a tool of carrying on my flying career, but as a release from the every day monotony of life. Having received the all clear from the insurance company today was the first time that I was legally allowed to fly Victor Alpha without any other shareholders present. The thrill. The excitement. The shear pleasure of once again being able to fly without another qualified pilot sitting in the right had seat. With the destination of Caernarfon picked, victor alpha was prepared for the flight. This was also to be my first flight with a real life passenger, my partner Sammy.

With full fuel tanks, a route prepared and a box of chocolates easy at hand, we were clearly ready to depart. After obtained taxi clearance we lined up and departed Barton on RWY 27R into a slightly blustery, albeit warm and pleasant day with moderate Vis. Routing overhead Wigan and North of Liverpool’s Class D airspace, we crossed the coast near Formby and altered the heading to head towards Rhyl. Leaving plenty of space between us and Birkenhead (No offence to the local population!), we tracked across Liverpool Bay. Although a great deal of precipitation decided to occur directly above VA, we ploughed on and soon reached the Menai Straits. The perfect introduction to Northern British weather! The views after Llandudno Head were spectacular. Snowdon lies off the Port tip and the great expanses of the Irish Sea to the Starboard. Having to fly the straits under 1250ft Valley QFE, gives the chance to obtain some spectacular views and great photography opportunities. Telford’s Menai Bridge and Stevenson’s Britannia Bridge look magnificent when viewed from the air, especially when there is not a great deal of clearance below. We even got away without speaking to Valley MATZ, as it was a weekend!

The landing at Caernarfon was, well interesting. The approach to the active RWY brought us in over the sea on base and finals, giving some spectacular views of the local beaches. The fact that the wind was being very inconsiderate and continuing to blow slightly across the RWY at around 30kts meant that we had to crab VA in at a very unusual angle to keep track down the approaching centerline. The lading was great, no problems, firm but smooth and defiantly safe, which pleased me as I had never before experienced x/winds on that scale. The only problem was that I had to backtrack the length of the active whilst traffic was approaching short finals. The grub was good, and after a quick walk around the aircraft on display, we gave VA a well-earned drink of AVGAS tonic and departed. Mona, our next destination was quickly scrubbed due to a 35kt full x/wind reported, clearly too much for our 172.

The flight back along the Welsh coast was uneventful, until we reached Chester, where we approached Hawarden on the R/T and gained a zone clearance. This was clearly going to be a day of firsts. Having only ever flew over one other airport en-route, thus being LAX! Even here, no clearance was required. The controller was helpful and very friendly, giving us a FIS all the way to Oulton Park. From here it was a short shoot up the low-level corridor and back over to Barton. Entering on the downwind, I greased the landing just before last light and taxied back to the hanger. My new GPS PDA system had proved a valuable tool, using the CAA quarter scale chart to navigate, backed up by the GPS system. The trip was fantastic, great scenery, great flying and a mixture of radio practice, thanks to London FIR! After sailing here many summers as a boy and recently revisiting the area a few times earlier this year, the trip brought back memories.

Decisions Decisions

2007-01-29T19:25:00.000Z

A further flight, this time to Sleap, in the West Midlands, via the Manchester Low Level Route and across Oulton Park quelled any dreams of returning to America to continue my flying career. This was simply due to the fact that flying in the UK is so much different, and in its own little ways so much more interesting. Gone are the long open flights of little traffic and radio calls. Instead, the skies are alive with friendly sights of other GA, Commercial and military aircraft and radio calls are present on a much larger scale. Not only does this keep the pilots mind active, but it also focuses the brain and makes sure that the task of flying is achieved to a greater standard. A further flight back to Sherburn-In-Elmet the following week confirmed to me that owning a group share in a local aircraft was the way forwards. Not only would it allow me to home my skills, but it would allow me to build up my hours and work towards further licences and those all important ATPL exams.

The Dream Continues???...

2007-01-29T19:24:00.000Z

Since returning form Anglo American, flying as you can well imagine came to an abrupt standstill due to the small problem of the CAA and their lengthy process of producing licences. Even when this was completed the shear cost of flying in the UK meant that as a recently qualified pilot, I was grounded. A trip to the local flying school clarified that I could clearly not go solo without a lengthy and costly check ride and the payment of extortionate hourly fees. Luckily for me, I was able to call upon a favour owed to me by a family friend, which resulted in me logging another 2 hours PIC time in a Cessna 172. This flight was not an ordinary flight, but the start of new pastures. It opened the door to new flying relationships, which would ultimately lead to me purchasing my first share in an aircraft, a Cessna 172. But perhaps, at this moment in time this is looking too far into the future. For now, we departed Barton, a small aerodrome in Lancashire, to the South West of Manchester. Routing around Manchester airspace and up over Saddleworth Moor over towards Holmfirth, we quickly came onto Huddersfield’s Crossland Moor airfield. A small, uphill, semi tarmac, semi grass landing strip with a caravan serving as a club house. With a quarry and lots of potential sink on short finals, as you can imagine this was not the most welcoming place for a newly qualified pilot to approach. But overcoming all odds and fears, the landing was made, albeit with a more qualified pilot in the right hand seat for security. The arrival at Sherburn-In-Elmet, near York was textbook, much more like the usual. After flying back to Barton, via an SVFR route due to deterioration into IMC, a smooth first ever grass landing ensured that the first flight since Anglo came to a satisfactory ending.

Flying in California

2006-10-07T16:09:00.000Z

No matter what people tell you, i believe that you have to actually fly in California to understand what it is really like. The differences between there and the United Kingdom are obvious. The lack of extensive airways and controlled airspace, mean that flying is a totally different experience. One which requires a lot less time on the radio side of things. Another clear difference is the lower levels of traffic in the air. It would not have been unusual not to see another aircraft for upto two hours in some flights.

The Dreaded Written Exams

2006-09-29T20:58:00.000Z

The fact that upon arriving at Anglo and not having completed any of the JAA PPL written exams, meant that i had a mountain to climb in the two and a half weeks that i was there. This mountain was furthered by teh fact that i had only just started reading the Trevor Thom books on the severn subjects. Anyway, without further adue, successive days of reading, on various occasions numbering upto ten hours a day meant that i was soon ready for the Aviation Law exam. Although not the easiest of subjects, due to the fact that facts are facts that must be lernt and that an overall good general grasp of the subject was required, a first time pass ensured that once again i could leap into the sky on my first solo at Gillespie.

Met and Human Performance, enough said. They were simple enough after the straightforward nature of each exam was understood. Navigation, perhpas the most difficult subject to grasp due to the fact that i tried to learn how to navigate in theory, without the practical element being added. The exam itself, which consisted of plannign a nav trip on a CAA 1:500 000 scale chart and then answering a few questions on radio navigational aids was actually quite fun. Although a failure occured on the first attempt, a quick nav trip upto Hemet ensured that a pass was achieved on the second attempt.

Once again, comms was straightforward due to the fact that teh R/T work involved was mostly covered in the practical flying course, well all except Pan-Pan and Mayday, fingers crossed. The task of Flight Planning was attempted and although challenging in places, it was not as difficult as it first seemed to be. Finally, Aviation General and Principles of Flight. Although the indepth and broad nature of this topic meant that revision needed to be structured around certain key aspects, the fact taht a quick grasp was gained, combined with the knowledge gained after compling my relativly few hours meant that once again, a first time pass was achieved.

Overall, the task of the written exams was very demanding, but was attempted with great enthusiasm. The pure lust for flying propelled me on, knowing that without the passes gained, my dream to gain my licence would never take-off.

Night Flying Part Deux

2006-09-29T16:59:00.000Z

After having only completed two hours of the night rating, which consisted of five hours, one of which had to be solo, 4 of which had to be duel, including an hour at least of navigation, the second to last night at Anglo was well set out to be an interesting time. AFter just having compleetd my skills test and the relavent mountain of paperwork which it included, the flight set off at half past eight. Clearly this was not going to be an early night, as they say, no rest for the wicked!

Golf Foxtrot, the IR Cessna 172 was the choosen machine, and having quickly decided on a route that would take us from Gillespie to Santa Monica. The route consisted of flying over towards Miramar and then out to the Gulf of Santa Catalina, which we would follow upto LA itself. The take off, followed by a spectacular vision fo a fire work display at the local NFL stadium clearly pointed out that this flight would not be the run of the mill type of excursion. The views of the night sky were spectacular, as we flew down north up the traffic pattern towards the Oceanside VOR. After a quick trim, there was little to do but enjoy the night sky, and try to occasionally check the T's and P's and guages. try being th opperative word lol, due to the fact that Golf Foxtrot had a distinct lack of internal instrument lights!

Once we hit the docks at LA, teh fun really began. Dropping down to 4500 feet and flying directly over one of LAX, one of the largest ariports in Westen America without having to make contact with the tower, we proceeded to Santa Monica. The pure thrill of looking down upon the four mighty runways, split only by the even greater terminal buildings was helped by the descent into Santa Monica itself. The approach path, which took the aricraft within 80 foot of downtown LA's skyscrapers was breath taking to say the least.

After a quick touchdown and an even quicker take off, the route back was simple. Emphasised by the fact that Jason contiued to be mesmorised by the GPS and its ability to continually change the ETA lol. After multiple attempts to gain my instructors clearence to play with the lights at Miramar lol, Gillespie approached quickly. Although arriving back at Gillespie at almost midnight may not seem like th normal way to spend a saturday night, i can guarantee that it certianly is a fantastic way to spend any night.

Night Flying

2006-09-29T16:41:00.000Z

Wow, wow, wow. Thats quite possibly the only word capable of emphasising the effect that taking off down a lit runway into the infinity of darkness had on me. It was great. Having never flown a light aircraft at night before, i was eager to try it to say the least. As if i didnt have enough on my plate, after having to sit the severn JAA written exasm in two weeks, along with a skills test and a comms exam, i decided that the nigth rating was an addition that i wanted to grasp whilst at Anglo.

Nav lights flashing, Strobe lights on and off we wnt down the runway. As the 60 kts marker was reached on the ASI and the backwards pressure on the yolk started to lift the nose off the well lit runway, the feeling that we are not alone in the universe suddenly dawned on me. Perhasp this was because of the perfect view that was provided of the stars above San Diego. Although the first two hours, one of which was dual and the other of which was solo, were both circuit flights, staying well within the vacinity of Gillespie, the fun still kept on coming.

After dropping Jason, my instructor off, the feelign of excitment quickly over whelmed my body. Taking off now had a whole new meaning to it. It was fantastic. After listning to a new student trying to make his take off announcment, trying being the opperative word due to the five minutes it took him lol, the runway lights decided to switch off. Although this is a normal routine event every fifteen minutes, it was not widely appreciated by me as i was on short finals at 300 feet when it occured lol. Although they say to flick the trasmit button on the VHF 5 times to turn them back on, im sure i pressed it more like 20, in my wild attempts to relight the quickly approaching runway.

All in all, the flying was amazing. The combination of the perfect views of the local area, which seemed to be lit like an electric carpet, the lack of wind and the eerie calmless of the night sky meant that it is perhaps one of the best times to relax and fly at once.

Solo Navigation

2006-09-28T22:22:00.000Z

Perhaps the largest and obviously the happiest step in my life so far was my solo nav trip. Flying form Gillespie to Cochran Regional Airport and then down Salton Sea to Imperial County Airport, right on the Mexican border. It was great flying, 10,000ft over the mountains and then dropped straight down into the deserts. Eating peanut butter mnm's and crusing at FL100. How can you beat that?

After the take off, which was good, as always, lol, i headed to El Capitan and then over to the Julian VOR. I followed the planned route that well, that i had trouble finding the beacon as it was directly beneath me. A steep turn quickly sorted that problem out. After that i descended slowly towards Cochran, or Thermal as its commonly known via Borrego Valley, a small aerodrome in the desert. The traffic at Thermal was minimal, but as the VHF frequency is only a air/ground radio, it was fun to say the least. After parking Zula Papa next to a learjet, (it was the best place i could find lol) it was a short trip to Imperial via Salton Sea, a large inland sea/lake. After a tricky, but not uncalculated landing and a can of mountain dew, it was back to Gillespie, via a long and ardous climb back up to altitude in the exhausting heat.

After three and a half hours of flying in the heat, it was a landing well asked for both me and Zulu Papa. A totally amazing day, one which will surely reamin one of my fondest memories for years to come. Thats surely why flying is such a fantastic and well deserved object of desire.

Achieving My Dreams

2006-09-28T20:51:00.000Z

Anglo American, the Southern Californian flight training school in El Cajon allowed me to achieve my dreams of gaining my PPL. The two and a half weeks of flying not only gave me the experience of a lifetime, but also meant that i met some decent people and had fun in the sun at 90 degrees. The flying, obviously the biggest attraction in my eyes, was carryed out at Gillespie Field, an aerodrome with ample runway length, even for some of my longer than average touchdowns!

The local scenery was amazing, 6,500 feet of mountains to the East, followed by vast expanses of desert, Mexico to the South, LA to the North and of course Miramar to the West. As you can see, no boring views of the pennines and cloudy skies! Talking of cloudy skies, well there is nothing to talk about really. Apart from the occasional (one if i remember correctly) morning, i did not see a fluffy cloud in the sky. Fantastic.

The aircraft were a mixture of Cessna 152's, 172's and the Piper Warrior. Not being able to fit into a 152 and not liking the set up of the Piper, i opted for the 172. Four seats and enough fuel to fly the length of the long cross country with enough to spare to complete a quick solo circuits trip. Although they were far from new, there were no major problems, apart from the lack of carb heat on zulu papa.

After being home for all of two days, and hating every minute of it, i cant wait to get back to Anglo next febuary and continue my flying. It goes to show, that once uve experienced your dreams, its hard to go back to the grind of everyday life. Lets just hope that one day, everyday life will become the joys experienced at Anglo.