Lesson Number 10 - Windy!

Like any other day that I'm booked in to fly, it's always a waiting game to see if I actually will be going flying - 'The phonecall' is how I nickname it. Usually it comes about two hours before my scheduled ETD which was 13:00hrs this time around. 

I woke up to the sound of a ringing phone, legged it down the stairs, and answered it, "Hello, Jake, would you be able to come down to the club now for your flight as the weather is only forecast to get a lot worse..." Overjoyed that I would indeed be flying, I said yes, not like I'd ever say no or anything. Oh and by the way, this was at about 09:30hrs, not often I'm up that early!

The main concern that the club informed me of, was the wind, it was at 30-35 knots and gusting at 45, they said to come on down anyway and we'll go from there. I arrived at the club around an hour after the phone call, both excited and nervous as I'd never flown in such windy conditions.

My CFI, Michael, was still up flying when I arrived but would be back on the ground in about 15 minutes so my dad and I, sat in the lounge and spoke about what flying would be like in the windy conditions as well as flicking through the mass of aviation magazines available on the tables. 

Michael arrived back at the club and said to me, at first eye contact, "be ready for a challenge", I laughed, not really sure if he was joking or not... Turns out he wasn't, he told me that we would be doing circuits again like last time, and also that we would only be using one stage of flaps as well as an approach speed of 70 knots rather than 65 because we had such a strong headwind - So I headed out to the aircraft and carried out my internal and external checklists, including checking the fuel, tyre inflation, stall warning, antennas, etc, after completing the checklist, Michael made his way out and got himself into the cockpit in which I was all set to go, we closed the canopy, buckled up and begun taxing to the runway 15 hold while I gathered the airfield information. 

Michael explained to me while taxing that less right rudder would be needed on take off because of the strong crosswind but we would be taking off at a slightly higher speed than usual - 60 knots in this case. 

I taxied the aircraft to runway 15 for take off, lined up, made the radio call and we we went! I done just as Michael had said, and was climbing straight out, flaps up at 300ft, continue at 70 knots until 500ft, make a left turn still climbing to 1000ft almost 90 degrees to our runway heading, though it was more like 100 degrees to compensate for the cross wind.

(Runway 15 is located on the top right of this picture as it was once RWY 16)

Upon reaching 1000ft, I levelled the aircraft off, let the airspeed increase then brought RPM back to cruising speed. I then made a left turn upon passing the mark in which I use to remember to make the left turn, made the radio call, "Scrabo 68, downwind runway 15", and then proceeded to carry out my downwind checks which mainly consists of checking the fuel, mixture, altitude, engine T's & P's, canopy, harnesses, etc, once completed, I made another left turn, now adjacent to the runway , started to reduce the RPM but kept the nose the same attitude, I waited for the airspeed to reduce to below 97 knots then took the first stage of flaps just before turning onto finals in which I began to descend, making sure I cleared a police radio mast at 500ft, I lined up with the center line, carb heat in at 300ft and taking away the speed ever so slightly while I was at it... And that's all there is too it, I was down, applying the rudder, and pushing the throttle to full - I was away yet again.

I repeated the exercise about 4 times before we had to leave it for the day because the wind was simply getting to bad. I ain't gonna lie, it was tough, and it was a challenge, definitely the toughest flying conditions I've flown in, but I enjoyed it, in fact, I think I flown on of my best lessons this time around, I really enjoyed the tough conditions! It felt pretty weird when big gusts of wind hit the aircraft and it was all over the place, such a weird feeling, I guess you just need to experience it to know how it feels!

Just hope Michael's head it okay after hitting it off the canopy when coming in to land the last time around, a gust of about 45 knots hit us and we were all over the place, but I got us back on track and successfully landed - Both funny and fun!

We then had our de-brief in the club house and Michael explained that I'm pretty much ready to go solo, I just need to get my medical and do my air law exam, unfortunately I can't go solo until I'm 16 as well, which is in December, so a bit to wait yet!

Until next time! 

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! 

Motivation, Determination & Dedication

Flying has it's highs and lows (pardon the pun) as does everything. The feeling one can have when they fail at something is remarkable, even worse when it's something they try hard to succeed in.  Life isn't easy, and shouldn't be taken day-by-day... Flying is no different.

When I first decided that I want to become a pilot, I posted on an online forum, asking for people's opinions and advice on how to go about it. I revived some great advice, help and support which I still have to this day. Unfortunately, on other occasions with some other people I know, the results haven't been as good. Especially online... People try to bring you down, they don't see you succeeding, they don't want to offer you advice or help, perhaps they are jealous of how ambitious you are, sometimes on those forums, people post negative comments to you telling you to, "Forget about it, you've no chance!" I can tell you: this isn't true. 

'Anything is possible, no matter how hard it seems'

I most certainly do not come from a wealthy or upperclass family , I'm just a normal kid, from a normal family, with the right attitude about getting what I want. Flying is for everyone, and is available for anyone, you just to be 'motivated, dedicated and determined' if you want to be a success, it really is that simple, and that is what I've learnt from the many aviators that I've met from across the globe.

Life isn't just about sitting back, taking each day as it comes, life is all about making the most of it and looking back in years to come and thinking, 'Blimey, what a life I've had!'

"We all have those days, weeks, months where overload prevails. I love it when in the heat of the schedule, life gets easy" (Karlene Pettit) and don't we all... Just think for one minute, close your eyes, picture yourself living the live you've longed for, a great salary, family, nice house and a good car... I hate to break it to you, but this doesn't just happen, there's a reason for it happening ~ Passion.

Anything is possible, but only with the right attitude.

Often you hear about people bring pregnant at 16, thieving, stabbing people, addicted to drugs and alcohol... These are just some of the temptations that today has to offer, it's like a pitfall trap, you do it once, then you can't stop, these people have their whole life in front of them and with a few bad mistakes... This can all change. 

It's important to remember how easy it is to let your life go, but also important to make the most of it, don't be stupid, be smart:

Plan ahead, see your future, live your success.

Stay motivated to achieving your dreams, remain determined to do so, but also be dedicated, remember, it doesn't just happen that easy, like all good things it require works, hard work.

At 15, I am a trainee pilot hoping to make it to the top, a prominent blogger and am individual who aims to inspire.

Who are you?

Thanks for reading, lessons 9 and 10 will hopefully be added over the weekend so lookout for them.

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