Fog

Flying Hours Today 0:00, Total 9:15

Today I was expecting to do my first landing. Unfortunately the weather wasn't at all suitable, thick autumnal fog was obscuring not only Leeds Bradford airport but the majority of the Vale of York where I was planning to continue my circuits.

At least this weather phenomenon gave me a real world example of the conditions under which fog forms - I've been re-reading the meteorology section of Trevor Thom's book 2 and getting much more focussed on the weather examination.

I am much more confident now and would expect to sit this exam next Sunday if the flying is back on then. Weather is a complex subject but if you take the time to break down the concepts and get a real understanding of what is happening, then it all comes together to make perfect sense.

You'll also find that those high school physics lessons actually start to become useful when recalling latent heat and the relationships between temperature and pressure!

Heathrow ATC

Flying Hours Today 0:00, Total 9:15

I found myself spending two days on business at a conference at one of the many hotels surrounding Heathrow airport. An ideal opportunity to listen into ATC to get a better appreciation of how R/T conversations operate in practice.

I had my ICOM-RC5 airband scanner to hand and a list of frequencies for Heathrow. There are a number of frequencies available to tune in to: ATIS, ground, tower, approach etc. With multiple channels for some of the ATC controllers e.g. two ground channels, departure and arrivals approach etc.

I also managed to tune in to some of the radar routing of traffic over the extremely busy South East of England.

I thought that Leeds / Bradford and Manchester had a decent amount of R/T chatter to listen into, but Heathrow is an order of magnitude more.

There is just so much traffic it is overwhelming at times. If you get the chance to listen in during your training you will find it extremely worthwhile. The number of aircraft movements is quite staggering, you also get the chance to listen to departure and arrivals on a very regular basis - with a flight every 90 seconds, by the time one has landed you have already listened to the next two or more join the approach so you can really get to follow the procedures and request / response conversations that can be used later at your own airport.

One thing I did notice is the way frequencies are spoken. The training manuals would state that 118.7 is one one eight decimal seven. At Heathrow it may be given as one one eight seven, or simply one eight seven. It is also reassuring to know that even the professional pilots sometimes need to repeat instructions, or tune to the wrong frequency or take the wrong direction - of course the ATC controllers are always ahead of the game and quickly put the pilots right!

Flying At Full Sutton

Flying Hours Today 1:40, Total 9:15

I'd been studying meteorology during the week, but by the time Saturday came around I was tired Saturday and so didn't put myself through the PPL Confuser practice exam. I didn't want to sit the real exam without doing the important PPL Confuser work so decided to study for another week.

The weather forecast for this weekend wasn't too great anyway and I didn't plan on attending the flight school just to sit a single exam, so it wouldn't be a major issue to wait another week.

I was in for a rare pleasant surprise when dawn broke on Sunday and my flying lesson was confirm to be on. I arrived at the flight school just before 0900hrs and we headed for the apron as there was no need to repeat the circuits briefing from the previous week.

Doing the fuel checks I found, for the first time, some water in the fuel sample - probably due to overnight rain and also condensation in the tanks. It just goes to show how vital these checks are - they are not to be skipped under any circumstances.

Checks complete and out to R14, holding at F1, then proceeding out to the runway and take off. As Leeds Bradford (EGNM) is a relatively busy airport with various Boeing and Airbus jets flying in and out we couldn't practice our circuits there. So today we would be heading for Full Sutton (EGNU), a small grass airfield just beyond York, to practice.

This ariel shot of the airstrip clearly shows the prison to the north of the strip - a strictly no fly zone.

It didn't take long before we arrived at Full Sutton. Leaving the Leeds approach controllers we set squawk to 7000 - switching to standby mode before we made the change, then contacted the air/ground radio at Full Sutton, where we were informed that circuits were to be flown right handed, which was contrary to the usual left hand circuits that I had been practicing in my head.

Getting closer, we avoiding overflying the prison and the town of Stamford Bridge, descending and flying right around the airfield to cross over the threshold of R04 at circuit height - 1000ft - then on to join the circuit with the instructor's assistance.

I did the line up and approach for R22 with the instructor taking over for the landing. My first touch down on a small, narrow, grass runway - quite a different experience to the huge, wide, concrete runway that I have become accustomed to at Leeds Bradford.

A short stop into the club house to confirm permission for the circuit practice. This was also the first time I had flown to another airfield - we had had to book out at Leeds to inform them that we would not be a local flight and would be landing elsewhere - Full Sutton in this case. It is important to always give the right information as Leeds will be watching for us on their radar and if we disappear at ground level - well, they might start to think the worst has happened...

Back into G-BODD and the instructor took the controls to get us back to the runway - taxying much more slowly and with full back pressure on the yolk to keep the weight off the nose wheel in the event of coming across any holes or bumps.

We took our time to complete the power checks while waiting for another aircraft to land. Then crossed from the hard surface of the taxy way - a former runway - to grass at 45 degrees before backtracking down the side of the runway to the arrow just before the "22" numbers. We would have 2 levels of flap for this short field take off.

We aligned the aircraft to the left of the stone-chalked arrow to minimised blown stones - and noted a distant pylon as the aiming point of the runway centre line. Time to apply power and as we start to move the instructor weaves us from the arrow between the stones of the 2 and 2 and along the grass strip - we are airborne before we even touch the hard surface of the former runway that crosses the grass strip.

Note also that Full Sutton uses air / ground radio. There is no ATC here but radio is used to communicate position and intentions so that other pilots flying in the air or manoeuvring on the ground aware of the situation.

The instructor flew the first circuit - full power climb to 500ft at 75kts, turn right through 90 degrees using 15 degrees angle of bank, continue climbing to 1000ft where we level off and turn right at 30 degrees angle of bank to run parallel to the runway - i.e. heading 040.

Reduce power to cruising speed around 2300rpm at 100kts and trim. When abeam of the end of the runway a quick radio call : "G-DD downwind for touch and go on R22" - I soon picked up that it is runway two two, not twenty-two, as I did state more than once.

Time for the pre-landing checks: Brakes, Undercarriage, Mixture Rich, Carburettor Heat On, Magnetos Both On, Primer In and Locked, Fuel Pump On, Check Fuel Tank In Use and Sufficient Fuel, Hatches And Harnesses, Flap, Carburettor Heat Off.

When the end of the runway is 45 degrees over my right shoulder I commenced a 90 degree turn to the right, using the DI bugs to assist me, and 30 degrees of bank - but I must remember not to go too steep!

During this turn put carburettor heat back on. When flying straight and level power down to 1700rpm, and enter the glide attitude - you know when this is correct when airspeed is at 80kts. The airspeed is already in the white arc so it is safe to apply 2 stages of flap, but I must ensure that I maintain the same attitude when the flaps deploy.

At the appropriate time, turn right through 90 degrees, using a maximum of 30 degrees of bank, due to slow air speed, to line up with the runway.

Do not try to make the turn steeper if overshooting as there is a danger of stalling, instead overshoot then turn back on course.

Maintain the runway numbers / threshold marker in the same position in the windscreen. Monitor for any change in the descent angle and adjust with small - 100rpm - changes in power. Get trimmed and at 500ft apply the 3rd stage of flap and turn carburettor heat off. When your right hand isn't doing anything, put it on the throttle.

Gentle bring the aircraft to the runway, as the runway begins to fill the visual picture it is time to reduce power to idle, to glide along the ground and then to drop down slowly on to the runway - but we didn't do any of that, it was time to do a go-around without touching the ground.

When within a few feet of the ground, gradually apply full power, drop the 3rd stage of flap, climb to 200ft before dropping the remainder of the flap. Then simply repeat all the above 4 more times before heading back to Leeds.

Flying back to Leeds we took the opportunity to start to look at navigation. Using the instructor's aviation chart to identify landmarks, to set a course and to calculate the heading to take by checking against VOR/NDB schematics on the chart which provide a ready made compass rose on the paper.

We passed Ruffoth and maintained altitude above the 2100ft where gliders may be being towed. Then over Wetherby and on towards Eccup.

As we contacted Leeds Tower we made to join the left hand circuit at the downwind leg and then to do an orbit when abeam the threshold of R14. Setting the QFE at 973mb - yes, that low. We headed for Cookridge tower which is an obvious landmark for pilots and then turned right to join the circuit.

The orbit wasn't necessary in the end and further instruction from ATC told us to proceed to final approach at 2nm - confirmation was requested that this overruled the orbit requirement. We were at 1000ft height above airfield level (aal) in the circuit, we turned for the base leg and then for the approach - going through the checks and actions we had been practising already. The instructor did the R/T work while I concentrated on the approach - the runway at Leeds / Bradford looked enormous. A Jet2 jet had just taken off before us and looked quite small on the runway.

There was a strong crosswind. As we came nearer to the runway I was uncertain of our ability to land as we were crabbing and pointing significantly out of line of the runway but were tracking in the right direction.

For the final seconds of the flight the instructor took control and I followed through, an uneventful landing in the end. I took control and taxied us back to Multiflight West on the south side of the airport via Lima. My taxying skills are improving greatly. The end of another fantastic lesson - more of the same next week except this time I will be looking to land as well.

Air Law Exam

Flying Hours Today 0:00, Total 7:35

Following all the excitement of the circuit ground school, it was time to sit down and do the Air Law and Operations exam.

Widely recognised as one of the toughest exams simply because it refers to a dry subject, much of which isn't relevant to a student pilot (e.g. international travel regulations, certificates of airworthiness etc.) and so is difficult to put into context.

I wanted this one out of the way as soon as possible so here goes... and I passed, not quite 100% but 92.5% (37 out of 40) correct in the 1hr exam, although I only spent 30 minutes in the exam room.

Circuit Ground School

Flying Hours Today 0:00, Total 7:35

The weather over the Pennines looked good this morning at 0800hrs. This was quite unexpected as the forecast for this weekend - and next week - are of doom and gloom and the early onset of winter.

I set off to the flying school with blue sky in sight - today was turning out to be a great day for flying. As I approach Leeds through Bradford the cloud was looking distinctly darker and lower. The blue sky had disappeared, the wind had picked up and this was confirmed by the windsock at the airfield as I passed it before going under the main runway through the road tunnel.

My journey wouldn't be wasted though, as I was planning to sit the air law examination today so I would at least be able to get that under my belt. I'd also be able to get in some last minute revision to go over a few of the points that I had not quite fully understood and had come to light when doing my mammoth 156 question mock test in the PPL confuser.

The Standard Circuit

"To maintain some form of safe and orderly flow of traffic at an aerodrome, and to allow easy and safe access to the active runway, aircraft are flown in a standard circuit pattern. For good operational reasons, the preferred direction of take-off and landing is into wind, hence the same direction will generally be used by aircraft both taking off and landing."

From Trevor Thom's The Air Pilot's Manual 1 My concerns about the weather were well founded. The instructor deemed that the weather was too changeable and that it wouldn't be worth going up today - yet another cancellation to add to my long list of disappointments. However we decided to do the ground school for circuits and to prep before next week's anticipated lesson.

In the end this turned out to be a very good move. Rather than rushing the circuit brief we went through the whole thing in great detail. Lots of questions and answers, discussions, and some off tangent discussion of other points of aviation that came to me during the briefing. As the later lessons, and other students, had been cancelled we had ample time to sit and discuss circuits until we had exhausted the subject.

I still recall the briefing was so long and involved, it was probably the toughest part of my whole flight training. I've broken the briefings into bite-sized chunks below to make the whole thing more digestible. The briefing went something like this...

Take Off

Starting on the runway, cleared for take off, do your line up checks.

• Are the compass, runway and heading all in alignment? You don't want to be heading down the runway the wrong way. As well as being potentially very dangerous you will not win any friends in a busy ATZ.
• Set your transponder as required. Note that you set the transponder when in Standby mode so as not to inadvertently respond with the wrong setting, or even to respond with a 7500, 7600, 7700 code by accident. Once set, put it into Alt mode if available (Alt is Mode Charlie - Mode C) and indicates altitude with the squawk. The On setting will only respond with the identifier.
• Note the time, this is a legal requirement so must be done. You may choose to use local time but the ATC will also make a record and will be using Zulu time.
• Check your T's and P's

So now we are ready to go. Push the throttle forward and note the RPM rise. In the Piper you are looking for it to pass 2300 at least, it may not go much higher as the engine is doing an awful lot of work. Check the T's and P's again, and that the ASI indicates an increase in speed.

Apply back pressure and at around 55-60kts you will be airborne. Go into the standard climb attitude looking for a 70kts airspeed when the attitude is correct. This will be aiming for the best rate of climb for the aircraft (Vy) but best angle of climb (Vx) could be used where necessary. Refer to the manufacturers operating handbook for the target Vx and Vy speeds, and remember that they refer to the MAUW (Maximum All Up Weight).

At 200ft do the next set of checks:

• Flaps are up
• T's and P's in the green
• FERAF - Flaps, Engine T's and P's, Radio (ready to change frequency), Altimeter, Fuel
• Landing light is off
• Climbing now at 80kts with the right attitude
• Tracking in the same direction as the runway centre line

Crosswind Leg

At 500ft make a 15 degree angle of bank turn so that we are at 90 degrees to the runway. In a left hand circuit this will be a left hand turn. Note that as we are still climbing we go no further than a 15 degree angle in the turn.

Keep climbing to 1000ft - note that your circuits will be done on QFE so it will be much easier to view your height with a quick scan of the instruments. Power will be at 2300rpm and you will be in trim.

Level out at 1000ft, make a 30 degree angle of bank turn left by 90 degrees. At this point you will be tracking with the runway but in the opposite direction. You are now entering the downwind leg.

Downwind Leg

So we are now on the downwind leg and it is time to start on your pre-landing checks:

• Brakes on, pressure up, brakes off
• Undercarriage down and locked (n/a here)
• Mixture rich
• Carburettor Heat ON
• Magnetos both on
• Primer in and locked
• Fuel pump on - in general it is good airmanship to have the fuel pump on when within 1000ft of the ground
• Check fuel tank in use - or set to both
• Check fuel levels and switch if appropriate
• Check T's and P's
• Check hatches and harnesses are secure
• Carburettor Heat OFF - during the checks the hot air will have melted any ice. It is good to take the heat off for the remainder of the downwind leg as it will reduce power and so you will find your altitude dropping and will have to compensate - work that you don't really need to be doing.

When abeam of the runway - i.e. if you look directly to the left or the right you will be in line with the runway - make your call to ATC or the Air / Ground radio.

It is as simple as "G-XX Downwind" and you may choose to add "To Land" or "To Touch and Go" if you feel it is appropriate. Don't make the call too early as others joining the circuit from overhead will be joining opposite the far runway threshold and will expect you to already be ahead of them once the call is made.

The downwind call gives the controller the opportunity to place you in the appropriate landing slot. If the radio chatter is particularly busy and you miss the chance to place the call when you are abeam of the runway you have to state this when you get to make your call: "G-XX LATE Downwind".

You may now have 20 seconds or so to enjoy the view. Be aware of the runway position over your left shoulder. When it is 45 degrees behind you (at the 7:30 clock position) it is time to turn left on to the base leg.

Base Leg

Turn on to the base leg with a tight turn of 30, 45 or even 60 degrees angle of bank through 90 degrees. The tighter this turn the better as you will have more time and distance to begin your descent. If the wind is stong you may want to turn early so you won't be blown too far from the runway, also if you have flap failure you will want to turn a few hundred yards later than usual so that you have a longer final approach in order to lose air speed.

Once establised on the base leg, there are more checks to complete:

• Carburettor Heat ON
• Power to 1600rpm - hold the nose up to maintain the attitude
• Check Vfe and engage 2 stages of flap - hold the nose down to counter the flaps
• Assume the powered descent attitude with airspeed of 80kts
• Trim - at around 75-80kts at the correct descent attitude there shouldn't be much need to change the trim setting that was in place for the downwind leg of 100kts at 2300rpm.

If everything has gone to plan you should now be approaching 600ft.

Final Approach

At 600ft make a 30 degree angle of bank turn to line up with the runway. Don't make this turn any steeper as you may stall due to low speed. If you do all this correctly and with no wind to interfere with your flight track you should be lined up with the runway. If you are not in line with the runway then keep turning until it comes back in line then bank right to align correctly.

You will now be 1 to 1.5 miles from the threshold and on your final approach. Time for more checks at 500ft:

• Flaps to full
• Airspeed at 70kts
• Trim - then hand back on the throttle
• R/T call: "G-XX Final, Runway 27" - a final check to the controller to ensure that you are where they expect you to be.

Your perspective of the runway should now remain constant. If it deviates then don't chase back to the original perspective, but ensure that it doesn't deviate further.

Use power to control height and attitude to control air speed. In a light aircraft your approach will be a 5 or 6 degree slope. If PAPI lights are installed at the airfield they will be set for 3 degrees and so are not to be used for this approach.

A 5 or 6 degree slope ensures that you have enough height to glide to the runway, with flaps retracted if there is an engine failure. Larger aircraft can use 3 degrees as they have more than one engine to rely on!

At 300ft carburettor heat OFF in readiness for any urgent requirement for full power. Then approach your target point on the runway, just before touching down flare the aircraft to then gentle drop the aircraft on the surface.

Congratulations, you have completed the circuit.

If you are to do a touch and go then maintain the current control settings and stick pressure and prepare to apply power and do it all again. This time you will need to have a positive rate of climb before retracting the flaps.

Simply isn't it? All the above brings together everything I've been learning about and practising over the past months - it all seems quite logical and simple when written down - but in the air it is time to prepare for information overload.

All of the above will be executed over about 6 minutes! But once it is mastered - it is time to go solo.

Human Performance Exam

Flying Hours Today 1:20, Total 7:35

Back to the flying school and I sat the short exam on Human Performance. This is generally considered the easiest paper to pass so I took it first in order to gain some experience of the ground school examinations and to boost my confidence in getting (hopefully!) a good score.

The exam was made up of 20 multi-choice questions to be answered in 30 minutes. I completed the paper, rechecked my answers and within 20 minutes handed the paper to my instructor. Early indications from my instructor - before official examinar marking - show a 100% pass rate.

An excellent day - my basic flying training is now complete and my first ground school exam is out of the way. With a 100% pass rate too.

Bring on the next lesson next week as we move into the second part of the flight training.

Stalling? That Sounds Bad!

Flying Hours Today 1:20, Total 7:35

When the alarm went off this morning, it was still dark. A sure sign that the winter days are closing in. The weather was good though. Broken cloud but not much wind. An ideal day to finish the medium, level turns and to get into stalls.

I set off to the flying school without even doing a phone check as I was planning to do my first exam too - Human Performance. Today was to be a good day, I would be completing my basic training before moving onto circuits, navigation, solo and passing my first exam if everything went to plan.

I arrived at the school and heard how the school's Cougar G-REAT had finally been decommissioned and was rapidly being dismantled for spares. The registration has also gone with it so there will be no more G-REAT flying in the near future.

Then we sat down with a warm coffee to start the stalls briefing. I would learn that there are many types: clean and fully developed, flaps at 2nd stage (30 deg) and also full flaps. I also learned a new acronym: EFATO - Engine Failure After Take Off - which is the one time when you need to be able to get into a glide attitude immediately.

We also discussed HASELL checks before practicing stalling manoeuvres: Height - with recover height above 3000ft above ground level (AGL), Airframe - flaps, gear, trim, straight and level, Security - of hatches, kit, people!, Engine - FREDA checks and carb heat on for power reduction, Location - with a sub-acronym of CAT - Clouds, Airspace, Towns - all in the clear, and Look-out - a visual check of all around. Slow speed flying was also discussed as this is a part of the overall exercise.

Out to the airfield, for the first time I went airside alone, after passing security, and commenced the checks unaided. I found that the oil was slightly low so we put an extra litre in. Tuned in and received the ATIS (QNH was 1020mb - high!). Then taxi to F3 for R09. Immediate clearance given after the power checks and we took off to Harrogate.

En-route to Harrogate we covered the slow flying exercises. Down to 60kts as we headed for a huge gap in the clouds between Harrogate and Dishforth. Here we completed the 30 degree medium level turns - much, much easier when the horizon is quite distinct. Then up to 4000ft to start the stall practise.

Stalling

"Streamline flow over the wings breaks down and becomes turbulent when the critical (or stalling) angle of attack is exceeded. This causes buffeting (shaking or shuddering) of the airframe, felt through the controls; a marked decrease in lift, resulting in sinking; rearward movement of the centre of pressure (through which the lift acts), resulting in the nose dropping; a marked drag increase."

From Trevor Thom's The Air Pilot's Manual 1 Stalling was much less eventful than I had expected. The Piper is designed to handle well in a stall, there was shuddering and shaking as we stalled in a clean configuration, but it was simple to head into a glide descent to cure this.

We followed the same procedure for a powered climb to exit from the stall the next time around. What is interesting is the amount of height lost - it doesn't feel as though you are in a descent but the vertical speed indicator will soon be reading 1000ft per minute descent rate!

Included in the HASELL checks were the carb heat checks - remember to put carb heat ON when the power is to be reduced, then off just before the manoeuvre so that full power will be available.

During the exercise we appeared to climb more then descending. Eventually reaching 5000ft - my highest altitude to date. Where ice was beginning to form on the windows. From here we practised the 2 and 3 stage flap exercises. When flap is extended wait until the "nodding" of the nose is downwards and hit the power at that point - get a positive rate of climb and gently release the flap to stage 1, and then to off as the positive rate is maintained. Remembering that with full flaps take the 3 stage off ASAP to reduce the drag.

We moved on to cover stalling in a turn. Break out of the turn while applying the power and then covering the flap activity if required. Before long it was time to head back, so we did my first steep turn as we descended. A spiral dive dropped us from 5000ft to 3000ft extremely quickly using a 60 degree turn to the right. Great fun.

Then heading back to the airfield. I did the calls to approach to get clearance for the zone (5 miles NE of the field requesting zone entry on VFR). QFE was 995 - then to the tower where we requested an approach left hand down wind on 09.

The response to my request was unexpected - something about orbits? I deferred to the instructor. We had to do a left hand orbit at rate 1. Something I'd read about but not applied as yet. As we completed this we had to do another and were being blown towards the airfield so were directed out on 280. Turned and then lined up to R09 with a cross wind blowing from our left. A really good approach with flaps lowered, centre line maintained, runway perspective all OK then the instructor took over as we crossed the threshold. An excellent approach at the end of an excellent lesson. Exit R09 on taxiway Delta, then R32, taxiway Lima and Golf. Turning into Multiflight West I understeered and we got to the edge of the taxyway but the turn was made good by the instructor.

Booking Out, Turns, SVFR

Flying Hours Today 0:55, Total 6:15

Having missed so many weekends my regular slot had been taken before I got the chance to make the booking for today. Fortunately I managed to get a late cancellation for today's lesson. It would mean a lazy Sunday morning for once, with the lesson scheduled for 1500hrs.

The weather wasn't promising. Even on Thursday the UK weather had been forecast for gales and heavy rain over the weekend. A call to the Leeds ATIS, and review of the TAF and METAR for EGNM showed that the signs were not good - high gusts, rain etc. etc.

I called the school at midday to get an update. It was touch and go, but I was told to get in for 1500hrs and we would take it from there.

Arriving at just before 3pm the weather didn't look too bad. The instructor had already been up in the twin engined Cougar - G-REAT - and declared the weather as not brilliant but doable. The wind and rain hadn't materialised, but the sky was quite overcast. All other trial lessons and leisure flights had been cancelled already.

We were to go in a different aircraft today: G-LFSK. A PA28, but with fairings etc. I took the opportunity to book the flight out with Leeds ATC - a first for me - giving information on the aircraft we would be taking, where we would be going (local flight), our anticipated duration, how many people on board, the captain's name and that we were to by flying VFR. Following that we headed to the aircraft.

I untied G-SK from the overnight weights and chocks, pulled her over for a refuel and then did the external checks. Including fuel tests which showed no water contamination, no debris. Because of the fairings covering the hydraulics, brakes, etc. I couldn't do every single item on the external checklist and completed as much as was possible.

Time to get into the cockpit, just as light rain started to fall. On with further checks and we were ready to start the engine. I requested the taxi instructions to F1 and then F3 where we progressed through the power checks. This delayed us a little and put us behind a KLM jet waiting to go to Amsterdam.

As that aircraft taxied down R14 to do the turn around we were given clearance to take off on R14 after the KLM jet had passed us. Straight onto the runway and away. I recall turning north and passing around 1000ft when the KLM jet was given clearance to take off... and to avoid us! I made certain that I soon got clear of the jet's flight path.

As we switched from Leeds Tower to Leeds Approach I had to acknowledge the frequency change. I was doing this by repeating the frequency, but noted that the frequency in the COM was different and I started to read this instead. Got quite confused and the instructor took over the hand over. It shows that you pay attention to ATC and not necessarily the COM settings. Lesson learned!

Medium Level Turns

"A medium level turn is a a turn performed: at a constant height; with a medium angle of bank (30° or less); at constant power; and in balance."

From Trevor Thom's The Air Pilot's Manual 1 We headed over to Harrogate and then on to Ripon. Looking for a good horizon to practice 30° medium level turns. This was going well, considering the murky conditions and the rain, I need to practice more on co-ordinating the rudder and the turn. I was getting the hang of the dual input when the instructor decided that the horizon was too weak to continue - we had done well and covered most of the lesson but it was time to turn back.

By now the weather had closed in. The instructor took us back to Leeds, and he had to call for Special VFR into the airfield as even 3 miles out we couldn't make visual contact. An ILS approach was required.

It was interesting to watch and learn the ILS activity. As we drew closer to the airfield the lights for R14 emerged from the gloom. The runway looked much shorter and compact compared to a visual landing. We touched down and make a quick right exit onto the Foxtrot taxi way. Then to Multiflight West to shut down and tie G-SK down in the rain before heading back home after a useful and eventful lesson.