Lesson Number 12 - Circuit Bashing

Today, conditions were perfect for a bitta' circuit bashing - High cloud, excellent visibility and low wind!

I arrived at the flying club at around 15:35hrs with my dad and we headed on in to the club restaurant 'Cloud Nine' where my dad ordered a coffee, we then proceeded to outside to one of the several picnic tables to wait for my instructor Michael to arrive in from a student flight.

Outdoor Siting Area at the Ulster Flying Club

It wasn't long until G-UFCL was taxiing on the apron to refuel for it's next flight. My dad and I waited about 5 minutes before going in to see him -just to give him some time to fill out his paperwork.

We headed in and got speaking to Michael, to start with, my general training so far, if I had my medical done, what exams I'd need to go solo, etc. I'd explained that I haven't got my medical done yet, or my first exam, but that I would be getting them both done shortly so that I can go solo in December when I turn 16.

G-UFCL was parked up on the apron now, refuelled and ready to go for it's next flight, so I headed out to the aircraft carried out my checks to make sure everything was in order and ready to go, then I proceeded to get in to the aircraft, bring my seat to the right position, harnesses on, and I begun my internal checks awaiting Michael to arrival, which he did, just before I was ready to carry out my 'Pre-Engine Start Checks'. He got in, fixed his seat up, got his harnesses on, and awaited me to finish my checks, making sure I was doing it all right, we put on our headsets, turned our avionics on, only to realise my headset wasn't working, luckily there was a spare in the back!

Me: "Newtownards Radio, Scrabo 68 requesting airfield information and radio check"

Control: "Scrabo 68, Readability 5, runway 22 in use, QNH 1024"

Me: "Readability 5, runway 22 in use, QNH 1024, Scrabo 68"

Me: "Scrabo 68, taxiing to runway 22 hold"

We had a Cessna 172 in front so I slowed the aircraft and pointed it into the wind behind the aircraft first in line and carried out the 'Pre Take-Off Checks"

With the Cessna 172 away, I released the parking break and slowly taxied to runway 22 threshold.

"Scrabo 68, ready for departure, lining up runway 22"

Pushed throttle to full after lining up with the centerline;

"Scrabo 68, taking off runway 22"

And away we went. After hitting 50 knots, I began to pull back on the yoke and we began our climb, I used the compass to make sure my heading was 220 degrees and that I wasn't drifting of course. 

Upon reaching 300ft, I put the flaps up, continuing to climb at about 65/70 knots, reaching 500ft I began a 15 degree turn to the left until we were heading 310 degrees (An exact 90 degree turn to the left) and we had the runway directly adjacent to our left, still climbing to 1000ft, I lowered the nose, let the speed build and then brought the RPM down to about 19000 to keep our speed at about 85/90 knots, when Michael made a radio call to the ground asking one of the firemen to take my dad down to the side of the runway to get some pictures/videos! We were now flying directly parallel to runway 04 heading 040 degrees, I waited until we passed the 04 marker then made the radio call that we were downwind for runway 22:

"Scrabo 68, downwind runway 22"

I then started my downwind checks:

Fuel - Right Tank

Mixture - Rich

Altitude - 1000

Engine T&Ps - All in the green

Canopy - Secure

Etc, etc, etc!

Courtesy of Matthew Cooper 

While carrying out my checks, I let the aircraft climb to about 1100ft, so I trimmed it out, and continued heading 040. We passed the runway 22 markers and Michael told me that I should begin my turn on to base when the threshold of 22 was 45 degrees (Roughly) from the back of the wing. 

When I thought it was about right, I began our turn onto base at 30 degrees until I was heading 130 degrees, I waited until our speed was under 90, took our first stage of flaps and slowly took away all of our power, and pulled the carb heat to cold, holding the nose at 1000ft until the speed dropped to about 65/70 knots, and began descending, I turned onto finals (220 degrees) at about 750ft and kept the descent going at 65knots, making the radio call:

"Scrabo 68, finals for runway 22"

The speed was in the 'White Ark' so I took full flaps and at 300ft I turned the carb head to warm and carried out some last minute checks such us undercarriage down, speed right, good height, harnesses secure, etc. When I was looking straight ahead at the runway, all I could see was my dad and the fireman running to the side of the runway to get pictures, it was funnier than ya think! At about 100ft, I kept the descent going, it wasn't until about 20ft of the ground that I centralised the control column, flying level over the runway and then slightly flaring the aircraft for touchdown, and of course my dad and one of the firemen were standing at the side of the runway to get pictures/videos (A rare opportunity!) Michael told me to look at the camera and 'Cheese', and I did so... Flaps up to take off, and throttle to full - Away we went for another circuit.  

We did that exact same as last time, everything was fine, speeds right, height fine, I was actually quite impressed with myself! When we turned onto finals again, I could still see my dad and the fireman standing by the side of the runway so I wanted to make this s good landing, I was a bit high this time so when we landed we didn't really have much time to 'cheese and smile' flaps up to T/O again and away we went. 

The third time was again, good, infact pretty good if you ask me, and I had the aircraft under control, okay, perhaps a mistake or two, but it was all rectified before it was serious this time when we landed, my dad and the fireman had left, but upon landing, I spotted a fox on the runway, luckily we didn't hit it, and as we passed, it just stood there and watched us go by, Michael reported it to the airfield manager incase it was on the runway again. 

During the first three circuits, Michael did prompt me through it, just to make sure I knew what I was doing and that I didn't make a complete muck up of the whole exercise, from the third circuit onward he told me he was going to keep silent and not say anything, and to be quite honest, I felt as if I was only ever getting better, less mistakes, feeling more in control, taking all my training into account and flying the aircraft and not letting it fly me - Personally, I think I done pretty well, and Michael even said my flying was perfect and that my circuits were great, which is always a good thing to hear as well as a personal boost. 

So, after the fourth circuit, I continued to do another two, everything was fine really, my only thing that needs more practise is my touchdowns... I can get the aircraft down okay, but I could just make it a bit more streamlined on the touchdown, by that I mean, get the aircraft to a few feet of the runway, then take full power away and flare it. Instead, I was getting it low enough, but kinda rushing the actual touchdown stage. I think it's something every pilot has had to learn upon, and it's my time to learn it - Practise makes perfect, honestly it does, by my sixth circuit, I had almost got it, not got it, but almost!

Michael, after my last circuit, done a very short 'circuit', at about 300ft and demonstrated the 'perfect touchdown', it looks fairly easy, but it does take some practice and that I'm not afraid to admit - But I'm certainly getting there!

So, after today's lesson lasting exactly an hour (1.0) combined with my previous circuit experience, I work it out that I have 1 hour and 54 minutes, circuit time under my belt (1.9) not bad!

Looking forward to my next lesson already, but more to it, my solo in December which I'm eagerly awaiting!

Thanks for reading and get in touch if you have any questions:

Twitter: @JakeLewis23

Email: jlewis438@gmail.com

Lesson Number 11 - Stalling!

Just before I start writing my post about stalling, I feel now is a good time to tell you about this weekends bumper blog posting: 

Today: 1. Lesson Number 11 - Stalling 2. Q&A w/Pilot Simon Burnham - British Pilot flying in South Africa
Tomorrow: Lesson Number 12 - Circuit Bashing

Sit back, buckle up, and enjoy the ride!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There's one thing that I've yet to cover in my PPL course so far - Stalling. 

To be honest with you, I did feel a notch nervous and anxious about this lesson. I have been demonstrated a stall before, and there was a wing drop, it felt pretty weird but kinda cool in hindsight, however when I think about doing a stall, as in, me, actually conducting the stall... I got nervous.

The weather was fine, it was a nice afternoon, little wind and high cloud, perfect for stalling, so we got on with it. My instructor for today was Gary or Kiwi as he's more commonly referred to on this blog, he set me off to check the aircraft out and to make sure everything was good to go.

Tecnam P2002JF - G-UFCL

                            

It wasn't long until he was out, and off we went using runway 15 - we headed straight out over the peninsula towards Bishopscourt, maintaining a climb at about 70 knots and also contacting Belfast Approach:

Courtesy of Matthew Cooper - Ards Peninsula  

                         

Me: "Scrabo 61, Tecnam just departed Newtownards, 2 persons on board, operating over the Ards Peninsula, not above 2000ft and request a basic service"

Belfast Approch: "Scrabo 61, operate not above 2000ft, VFR, remain outside controlled airspace, QNH 1023 and basic service report complete"

Me: "Not above 2000ft, VFR, remaining outside controlled airspace, QNH 1023, basic service, wilco, scrabo 61"

When we were nearing 2000ft, I made a radio call to request at least 3000ft to carry out stalling exercises, they approved of the request and we continued our climb to 3000ft still heading towards Bishopscourt.

Taxiing to the Apron

During the climb, Kiwi explained to me how to carry out the stall, he explained that at first we would be doing slow flight, then taking away all the engine power, holding the nose up, waiting for the stall warning and correcting it - that's all there is to it!

Diagram showing how Slow Flight is maintained

                             

To start with we done a flap-less stall, pulled out the carb heat, removed the engine power, held the nose up, waited for the stall warning and when I heard it, I pushed the carb heat in, and put throttle to full to silence the warning with a loss of about 50/100ft.

After the successful first attempt at correcting a stall, Kiwi got me to repeat the exercise two more times without any mistakes. 

Time to change a few things around; We took first stage of flap and tried the same exercise. We noticed this time that the aircraft stalls later than without flaps. 

Diagram showing indicators on an Airspeed Gauge 

                            

In general, I completed this part of the exercise with no problems again and kiwi was happy that I understood what to do when the stall warning goes off so we turned the aircraft around so that we were flying back towards Newtownards. 

Kiwi informed me that we would join via the overhead for runway 15, a new experience to me which meant flying directly over the standard circuit at a higher altitude then descending so that we could join the standard circuit after joining via the over head, everything was all okay at this point until short final when we realised we were too high for the small runway so we done a go around and give it another go, everything seemed better this time around, I think primarily because it was at standard circuit altitude instead of joining the overhead which was new to me, but worthwhile, this time we had the right speed and altitude and I made a good landing, after landing, we taxied back to the apron, as you do, and done a quick de-brief.

Ulster Fly-in - 14/07/13

                             

Kiwi told me that my flying was great, and that stalling was complete so we can go ahead and start circuits, which I quite like doing!

All in all, a good days flying done and I look forward to my next lesson. 

Thanks for reading and get in touch if you have any questions:

Twitter: @JakeLewis23

Email: jlewis438@gmail.com

Or by commenting below!

Málaga Aviation Museum

Hi all, 

Sincere apologies for the lack on blog posts as of late - I've got some pretty important exams at this time and it's revision, all day... Everyday! But the good news is, they are nearly over, so stay tuned because there's a lot coming your way soon including: 

• G8 Airport Spotting at Belfast International Airport [14th-19th June]
• Lesson Number 11 and 12
• Tecnam P2002JF at the Ulster Flying Club back in service 
• Plus, lots more!

Anyway, today, I'm blogging about Málaga Aviation Museum - The 'Costa del Sol's' little-known jewel

Last year, during August, I jetted of to the southern coast of Spain for a two week holiday, where I knew the Málaga aviation museum lay, so I was excited at the whole prospect of everything that would happen in these two weeks.

Here is the in-flight video recorded when leaving Belfast International Airport (BFS) for Málaga Airport (AGP):

Followed by arrival into Málaga airport (AGP) from Belfast International Airport (BFS):

It was on the last day of my holiday that I visited the museum...

The National Museum of Airports and Air Transport next to Málaga's airport is a well-run and growing treat for the aviation enthusiast and tourist alike. It's situated inside a restored 1938 hacienda-style airport terminal, with its Air Traffic Control tower and surrounding buildings, instantly transporting visitors back in time to the glory days of civil aviation travel. 

To the rear of the site there is a bigger, modern building housing the smaller aircraft in the collection, as well as airport- and aircraft-related displays and equipment. 

Within the grounds there is a large number of retired airport vehicles and transport aircraft. The latter include a Douglas DC-3 (C-47B) in Iberia colours, a Beech 18 in Spantax livery, a suberb Convair CV-440 in the marking of Kar Air of Finland, a de Havilland DH104 Dove of Martin's Air Charter of Holland, and the front fuselage section of an Iberia DC-9-30.

Inside, the main, and more modern building there are also various other light aircraft as seen below:

There is a heavy emphasis on education, with visitors able to enjoy interactive displays, and other exhibits tailored to the younger and other student alike. School parties can be given a history lesson of not just the airport and aviation in Málaga, but about Spain as a whole. From dedicated aviation historians and enthusiasts to casual visitors - everyone will find there is

plenty of interest. The exhibits within the museum are well thought out with a large collection of model aircraft, memorabilia and uniforms, as well as displays of how aircraft work and how airports are run and constructed.

The museum has good view of the extensive general aviation ramp, taxiways and runway beyond. Remember when you have had enough of aviation, there is always sun, sea, sand and large local brewery that this area is known for!

So there ya have it... Next time you're anywhere near Málaga, you know where to go! 

Thanks for reading, let me know what you think by commenting below or 
getting in touch with me all the usual ways - Oh, and remember to share!

Lesson Number Nine - Circuits

T'was a nice day... Little cloud about, sunny, mild - Perfect flying conditions!

Today, I knew that I would be getting my first taste of the circuit, so I was looking forward to it, a lot of excitement.

I arrived at the club and was met by Kiwi who's been mentioned a bit in some of my previous posts, he immediately started a briefing with me on the circuit, he told me the sequence in which tasks had to be completed, how long I'd have to do them, when I need to turn, what altitude I should be at, speed for the circuit and also when each stage of the flaps should be implemented, etc.

 

Since this was my first proper go at circuits, I suppose I was a little nervous. I headed out to the aircraft carried out my checks, both internal and external, kiwi joined me about 5 minutes later and we got ourselves into the cockpit, closed the canopy and away we went. We were using runway 15 today because of the southerly winds, I lined up with the centerline, pushed throttle to full, and upon reaching 55 knots, I 'rotated' for takeoff and we were away.

Climbed straight out, and done all the mandatory things such as flaps up at 300ft, demonstrating airmanship, radio calls, etc. I was taking in a lot of details at this point because it was all new to me such as when to turn, at what altitude I should be at and what speed, kiwi helped me along with the the first go around the circuit as it was my first go and I was able to do the approach and landing all on my own, which was good, it made me feel confident.

I took off and just done the same as last time, expect, I done it all on my own, I didn't need much help at all really, just a little bit of guidance at some points which I suppose has to be expected, I got the aircraft down again on the runway and pulled up for our third circuit around the airfield. 

When I got to the downwind stage of the circuit this time around, when I used the first stage of flap, I seemed to let the aircraft climb a little, we should have been at 1000ft, but I was at 1200ft, kiwi let me continue with everything, I turned onto finals and made the decision to implement full flap to help lose some airspeed resulting in a gradual glide, a bit earlier than usual, to lose the extra height gained, I had to be careful not to fly too low as there is a police radio mast on the approach for runway 15 at 500ft, to avoid this, I had to fly slightly right of the centerline approach and then line the aircraft up after passing it along with the normal checks at 300ft just before landing, I got the aircraft down, just as normal.

The forth go at the circuit, everything was fine, until turning on to downwind, when the aircraft climbed again when I used the first stage of flap, we turned onto approach and we were simply too high to carry out a landing so we preformed a go-around and were now on our fifth circuit, I was hoping that I would get it right this time...

And I did, I handled the aircraft well, didn't let it climb, kept it at the right speed and altitude, and done a nice landing if I don't mind saying so myself, I taxied us back to the apron, and had a de-brief with my instructor, we just talked about how easy it is to let the aircraft climb at any point, so once everything was made clear about that, and I felt confident that I wouldn't let it happen again and if I did, I would know how to counteract it. We finished up the lesson and kiwi give me a checklist for the circuit to revise for next lesson.

Quite a day for mixed feelings, but an important day of my flight training, one which I will take many things away from.

Just have to wait and see how lesson number 10 pans out! 

Welcome to my new blog!

Hi everyone, 

A lot of people reading this post won't have known me for very long, but I would just like to take this opportunity to say hello, and welcome. Previously, I ran a blog on a different host site, but due to interaction limitations I made the decision to change to blogger. That decision was made just two days ago, so I have been working flat out to transfer everything over to this site and customize it to my taste, etc. So thanks for stopping by, I would highly appreciate it if you could share this blog about with all your friends, and follow this blog as well. I hope you enjoy reading my stories and posts, thanks again!

Jake

Lesson Number Eight

17th March 2013 - It's been well over 12 weeks since my last flight, why? Due to some technical engine problems with my aircraft, it was decided that it would be grounded until the problem was resolved... Of course! 

Many weeks ago, I booked Sunday the 17th to go flying in hope that the problems would be resolved by then, and by Thursday of that week I was certain that I wouldn't get flying, the problem wasn't fixed. That Sunday, around noon, I found out, well, I would be flying, music to my ears!

                   

It was around 2:40pm when I arrived at the club after a lengthy break  both excited and anxious as to what the weather was planning for me, it was a day for all seasons in one, so I was crossing my fingers in hope that it would be good enough to get up flying.

I proceeded to enter the club, with my father, and met my instructor, Paul, who would be taking me up this time around, he explained that there was a cloud base of about 2,000ft so it might not allow up to have a go at stalling, but aside from that, he made me aware that this would be a mainly recapping lesson to get me back into the swing of things, so to round everything up, this lesson would involve:

Climbing, descending, turning while climbing, turning while descending, flying at a set altitude, then to finish of a first go at stalling.

I headed out to the aircraft and carried out all my checklists, both external and internal, and made sure everything was fine and ready to go, Paul joined me shortly after I had completed my checks, and I asked him about the fuel levels in the aircraft as they seemed slightly low, but he said that we would be okay, there's a few hours of flying until there's no fuel, other than at, everything else was no concern and we were all set to go. 

Quick call to Newtownards radio and we were taxing to the 22 hold, again ran through our checklists to make sure everyone was set for takeoff, lined up runway 22, throttle to full - and takeoff.

I picked a climbing speed of 70knots and climbed the aircraft to 1500ft while making a standard rate turn out of the circuit to the south-west, Paul handled the radios with Belfast City and I continued to fly towards Grey Abby whilst carrying out essential FREDA check, which stands for: Fuel, Radios, Engine, Direction, Altitude. Basically you're looking to make sure everything is what it should it be and that there is no problems with the instruments. 

I then climbed the aircraft to 2000ft, and Paul explained that we would do some exercises which would involve a full recap of turning, climbing, descending, etc. '"I have control", said Paul and he set the aircraft out of trim, descending, wrong RPM and I had to fix it, after doing do, he ran through another few exercises very similar to the last one, but instead of descending, perhaps it would be climbing, or turning for example. I really enjoy these types of things, they're really fun to do, and very helpful for your training. Paul then told me that he will do a stall just so I can see what it so like for my next lesson, "Is your harness on tight?", he said, then he lowered the airspeed, and raised the nose to maintain altitude... And we had entered a stall, the right wing dipped as well, but within a matter of seconds, we had recovered - interesting experience, felt like I had butterflies in my head!

                 

Paul got me to head back towards Newtownards while he was making a few radio calls to a controller at Belfast City Airport, I couldn't really make out what they were saying to each other, but shortly after the radio call ended, Paul asked me if I wanted a quick tour of the city, I thought he meant Newtownards, but he actually meant Belfast (to my amazement!) I turned the aircraft to fly towards Comber, just South of Belfast, I could begin to make out some landmarks such as Cavehill, Harland and Wolff and even Belfast City Airport, I descended to 1200ft and flew right over the Airport, Paul then said that we were going to do a touch and go on runway 04 at BHD - really shocked, but full of excitement, I entered the circuit via the overhead, and began to descend to about 900ft, right over the harbour of Belfast, amazing views of the city, seriously, nothing like anything I'd ever seen before, Paul took control to line up with runway 04 and got us down to about 200ft, I joined back in and we controlled the aircraft to the ground, perfect landing, and straight back off again into the sky at a climbing speed of about 65knots this time, done the circuit of BHD and headed back towards Newtownards.

Will never forget that moment, and debatably,  I'm one of the youngest to have landed an aircraft at Belfast, if not, the youngest!

We passed Comber on our way back to Ards, and it wasn't long before we were joining the circuit to land on runway 22 at Newtownards, it wasn't long before we were on finals and shortly after we had touched down - then vacated the runway to the left to make way for another aircraft coming in to land, I taxied back to the apron and parked up for the aircraft to be refuelled for its last flight of the day.

                     

This was a flight that will stay with me - forever

Lesson Number Seven

A great day for flying, the sun was out and in full force. After recapping on what to expect today, I was ready and roaring to go.

As per usual, I did all the normal things that I usually do on the ground, and before I knew it, we were up and flying over the peninsula at 3200ft above the cloud layer, amazing... I was flying above the cloud layer, as thin as it was, I was flying above it! It felt great. 

We went through the majority of the recap list for this lesson with no problems so we begun a bit of stalling, we picked out small islands in the peninsula and pretended they had runways, so we stalled the aircraft, then recovered and ran through the normal procedure for landing, took off, then done the same but with a different island. It was great fun, and helped me fly the aircraft looking out of the aircraft rather than using the instruments.

We routed back to Ards, I handled communications again, but this time we joined via the overhead to see what the wind conditions were like at the airport, we then joined the normal circuit at the normal altitude and were next in line for runway 04, on finals, and touchdown, my instructed then tells me to take off and we will do another circuit, just to build on the experience, so I done so, and we came in to land on runway 04 again, this time we taxiied back to the apron and had a debrief in the cockpit. 

This lesson was invaluable to me, I learned a lot of new tips and techniques and got a real sense of flying the circuit. How exciting, once again, until next time...

Lesson Number Six

Another afternoon flight today, last flight of 2012 actually, some cloud, but clear in most areas.

Different instructor today, primary reason for this is to experience different teaching methods of different people and to pick up more tips and techniques.

As always, I spoke to my instructor who briefed me on today's lesson, basically he wanted to just recap on some the first things I've learnt and then do a bit more on slow flight and possibly steep turns. 

So, got my headset, and headed out onto the apron, carried out my checklist, when it began to drizzle, so I took shelter under the wing of a gyro. My instructor shorted joined me and we got inside the Tecnam.

This time around, all the radio communications was me, including talking to Belfast Control, where many commercial flights would be in contact with,

We climbed straight out of Ards and requested 2500ft for cruising altitude, once we reached that altitude we begun recapping on the primary topics of flight, these included: Flying straight and level, climbing, descending, flying on to a different heading, you get the idea, primary reason of doing is just to reinforce all that I have learnt so far, and after we recapped we moved on to steep turning again, after a few goes, I had mastered it and confident in it now, we also touched on slow flight again on the way back to Ards, we really couldn't stay up there for much longer it was getting fairly dark, dark enough for the runway lights to be on, and soon we were taxiing to the apron were we were welcomed with one of the most amazing sunsets I have ever seen, just behind scrabo tower, absolutely amazing! 

Quick debrief and a list of things to revise for my next lesson for a full recap with one of the clubs CAA Examiners, until next time.

Lesson Number Five

This time around the weather was, well, okay, mostly cloudy, but not raining, so the weather itself, hadn't dampened my spirits (If you pardon the pun)

I arrived at the flying club at around 2:30PM for another afternoon flight. There was no holding about in the clubhouse, I just lifted my headset, spoke to 'Kiwi' about today's lesson, and headed out onto the apron and carried out the checklist. 

After engine start, to my amazement, 'Kiwi' handed the radios over to me, filled with nervousness but excitement I got straight on with it, okay, I gave the wrong QNH back to Newtownards radio, but come on, practice makes perfect, right? 

After a very short introduction to radios we lined up runway 22 and off we went. Headed over the peninsula at 2000ft and started a short recap to what was covered about turning last lesson, 'Kiwi' kept it sort, I had the skill to do it, so we moved on to 'steep turns' and, well, this was slightly more difficult, it was inevitable that this would take some time to master, but I gave it a shot, and managed well, quite amazing the amount of G-Force experienced, and the view from a different angle is spectacular. 

After spending a fair bit of time on steep turning and the rest of the topic of turning we moved on to slow flight, we done the majority of this en route back to Ards, we preformed slow flight both with and without flaps, which was also a pretty odd thing to experience, but after a few attempts at getting it right, I eventually had it, though, more practice will need to be done to just prefect it.

Before I knew it we were entering the circuit, again, I done some of the radio communications, and we were on base leg, soon on final approach, we set the aircraft up, put the flaps down fully, and glided in to Newtownards, back to realty. 

I had a lengthy de-brief with 'Kiwi' as there was a lot covered in the lesson, we done a few questions about steep turns and slow flight, then practised radios, he was booked for another flight, so of course I couldn't stay all day, a quick goodbye and off I went.