It is now three weeks since my first flying lesson. A perfect clear blue sky and so I set off to the flight school at the airport. I didn't take my cell phone with me. No need I thought - the sky being so good.
I arrived at the flight school with 10 minutes to spare before my 0900hrs lesson.
No one was there. I waited until just past the hour and then drove off to find a public phone to call up and enquire about my flying lesson.
Unfortunately the aircraft I was to use today is "having maintenance" and so is out of action. Another day lost, another opportunity to fly has passed me by.
I quickly drove to Multiflight, the other flight school at Leeds Bradford airport, and enquired about availability for a flying lesson today. Unfortunately there wasn't a single free slot today.
When I returned home I called Multiflight and booked a set of 3 lessons in June and July. Hopefully these will prove to be more fruitful - otherwise learning to fly will become a very long and fraught journey! I also manage to get through to Leeds Flying School and booked the 20th June.
So now I have a block booking of 4 consecutive weekends of flying lessons. But before they start I'm away on a touring holiday in the States.
As this is a warts-and-all diary of my flight training experience I decided to include all the cancellations I had during my quest to become a qualified PPL pilot. If you are learning in the UK, regardless of time of year, you will have flying lessons cancelled, it is just a fact of life.
Don't get disheartened, but be persistent and determined. The further you get in your flight training the less cancellations you will get as you will be more capable of flying in less than ideal circumstances.
It was 0830hrs on Sunday morning. I called the flight school to check on the status of today's planned lesson. Unfortunately it has been cancelled along with all other flying lessons booked today. Cancellations due to aviation weather conditions: a gray, damp, miserable day ahead for the most of the UK so no possibility whatsoever of getting airborne.
My next flying lesson is scheduled for 0900 on Sunday morning 23rd May - there are no free weekend slots before that time. At least that will give me more time to read up on activities - and it will spread the cost of my flight training programme.
Since the last lesson I've been reviewing Trevor Thom's book #1 - Flying Training. I've had this book for a number of years - it was bought on recommendation of a work colleague who is now a qualified commercial pilot. I've always had available as a reminder of my need to get that first flying lesson booked.
Having done the flying for real it makes the book so much easier to understand and appreciate. I've re-read all the exercises that we did last week - i.e. up to the end of chapter 4 - along with chapters 5 and 6. The next two weeks will give me the opportunity to re-read and consolidate the work to date and also to push on further into the more advanced chapters.
"This flight is ... an opportunity to get the 'feel' of being airbourne. Your flying instructor, and experienced and professional pilot, will use this first flight to let you experience some of the more common sensations of flying an aeroplane."
From Trevor Thom's The Air Pilot's Manual 1After many years of consideration, taking a helicopter trial lesson on my 30th birthday, flying hundreds of hours in small aircraft and commercial jets - including landing at LBA and LHR in the jump seat on BMI flights in the days before 9/11, and spending hours and hours waiting in airport lounges across Europe, I decided it was time to learn to fly.
I chose Leeds Flying School, sadly now defunct, as my flight school because they were relatively local, I know the airport that they fly from - it has limited traffic on weekends - and their web site promoted a professional image.
On Thursday 29th April 2004 I made the booking for a one hour flying lesson on Sunday 2nd May, at 0900hrs. I was surprised that I was able to get in at such short notice, but didn't complain.
That weekend was a public holiday weekend in the UK - so I had Monday to recover if everything went pear shaped.
I arrived at the flight school at 0845. I was made very welcome by the friendly staff and my flying instructor - and I had a cup of coffee in my hand before I had even sat down.
We discussed my reasons for wanting to learn to fly, the different licences available - at that time Leeds Flying School only offered the PPL, not the relatively new NPPL, and where we would be flying on the day and what we would be doing - i.e. a taking a "scenic" flight, or a training flight
We relocated to the briefing room where we went through what would happen in the lesson. Using a small wooden model I was introduced to the various surfaces of an aircraft and how they operated, their aerodynamic function and how we would exercise them in flight.
Following the briefing it was a short drive to the airport apron. We went airsidevia the security gate on the south side of the airport across from the main terminal.
We were to fly in a Piper Warrior (G-LFSJ). It had been parked overnight so my instructor did the full check which included all the lights, moveable surfaces, and stall warner. We checked various nuts and bolts to ensure none were missing, reviewed the state of the propeller, the tyres, suspension and the engine. Finally checking the fuel in both tanks and the fuel line for signs of water condensation.
You soon realise that flying is a very serious business, and it has to be. You don't want a preventable mechanical failure to force you to the ground at any time.
In the cockpit we went through more checks then started the engine. Headphones on and I was immediately introduced to so much chatter. This was surprising. It was an almost continuous noise of coded requests and responses between the air traffic controllers and other pilots. I tried to keep up but it was pointless. Once I get more familiar with the protocol of radio telephony (R/T) I'm sure it will be possible to understand just what is going on.
A short taxi out to runway 32 (runway three two, not runway thirty-two) along taxiway G. Holding position to confirm the barometric pressure and wind speeds on the standard issue report. Tuning back to the tower to confirm the squawk, the weather readings then cleared for take off.
Having flown from LBA hundreds of times as a business and leisure passenger in large jets it was weird to be on the runway in such a tiny aircraft.
Throttle out and away we went. The take off was very smooth, as we climbed we banked right, then right again to put us on a heading taking us over Eccup reservoir. The radio chatter seemed to increase further. My instructor talking to the controllers to get visuals of other traffic in the area coming into land or flying across the controlled airspace.
We headed out to Wetherby and then turned to Harrogate. From here I was doing the flying lesson for real. Banking left, level and right. And again. Then varying the pitch, keeping the wings level. Pitch up. Pitch down. More banking. By now we were somewhere over Ripon - I could see the racecourse and minutes later directly below us was Fountains Abbey. It was amazing to see this from the air as it is a place I've visited so many times.
All the while, more chatter on the radio. At times I had to be prompted by the instructor to confirm that I had heard him. I had heard, but it was at times difficult to extract his voice from the chatter.
He would occasionally talk to the controllers to confirm a visual on another aircraft. It is surprisingly difficult to locate another aircraft as they fly around. But once you have them in your sight they are easy to track. Until you turn to look away and then they are gone again.
More turning, but this time the inefficient way, using the rudder. After using the stick it was a different feeling for the rudder, of course, you are pushing against a lot of air flow and you can feel it.
Then to do more banking but this time to understand the effect of yaw and to balance the aircraft with the rudder. In reverse to do the same with using the rudder and then to cancel the effects of banking to keep level flight.
Next we moved on to the effect of speed and responsiveness. Flying at higher speeds of 100kts+ I took control to feel the responsiveness of the ailerons, elevator and rudder. Then flying at slower speeds, around 75kts, to note the lack of responsiveness of the ailerons due to lower airspeed - although rudder and elevator were not as impacted as much due to the airflow from the propeller. This work involved much movement of the aircraft, left banks, right banks, turns, and pitching up and down quite rapidly.
And on to trim. Using the trim wheel to balance the forces acting on the stick to maintain the correct pitch. Correcting just so the attitude was maintained but there was no pressure on the stick. This makes flying the aircraft much easier over a long distance as there is no effort required to maintain the stick in position.
Finally we touched on the flaps, and how they affect the aircraft in straight and level flight - affecting pitch and therefore airspeed. At this point I was starting to feel a little queasy with all the up and down motion of the aircraft - having never been a good traveller when not in control of the vehicle.
So we headed back to the airport which was appropriate anyway as we had nearly completed our full hour.
Flying back to Leeds I realised that I had lost my bearings completely. I have a well attuned sense of direction but would have found it difficult to locate the airport immediately. What was surprising was the amount of haze - from the ground it was a clear blue sky day, but at 2000ft it appeared quite hazy.
The instructor knew exactly where we were and in no time had us knocking on the door of the controlled airspace around the airport. Soon we were on the approach to runway 27 (runway two seven).
Another demonstration on the use of flaps as we came into approach and then touch down. Taxiing across the main runway and back towards the parking area. I felt very disappointed that I had been hit by the queasiness during the lesson, but the instructor said this wasn't rare and happens to student pilots when they keep moving their focus inside and outside the aircraft.
A short drive back to the flying school for a debrief. I was given a note for entry into my flying log book - when I get one. I had to remind the staff that I hadn't actually paid and so it was out with the credit card to offer payment.
The next lesson has been booked from Sunday 9th May 2004. A phone call to friends to review my first flying lesson showed that many had taken one to two years to get their licences, so the plan is to do as much flying as possible this summer and see how things progress, with a view to becoming a qualified pilot in the next 12 to 15 months.
. I've had this book for a number of years - it was bought on recommendation of a work colleague who is now a qualified commercial pilot. I've always had available as a reminder of my need to get that first flying lesson booked.