A Hazy Mixture

Flying Hours Today 1:30, Total 27:00

P1 Flying Hours Today 0:00, Total 0:15

I was given the remit to plan my latest navigation trip so I took the opportunity to fly further afield than previously with a flight out to Beverley via York, returning via Sandtoft (EGCF) and Dewsbury.


The route was plotted and the wind checked on Sunday morning: 15kts from 105. I made the fundamental error of calculating the wind as if it was blowing towards 105 rather than from 105. I saw the error by checking the ground speed, it would appear that we would be flying slower with a tailwind, something was wrong there and it took a few more checks before I realised that the wind vector needed to be reversed.


As we may be flying beyond Leeds' (EGNM) control I made a note of Humberside's (EGNJ) frequency in case we needed to switch en-route. My parents live near Beverley so I called them up to give an estimated time of arrival so they would be able to follow my progress from the ground.


My R/T is still progressing nicely. I had booked us out and we were soon lining up on the runway and making a note of T's & P's, the time, and setting the squawk.


We were given departure instructions via Eccup and not above 2000ft - the usual instructions. Then when the take off clearance came I was instructed to turn left and to leave the zone via the south of Eccup. A change to my usual procedure - the ATC keeping me on my toes.


A regular take off followed by a left hand turn, a great view of the airfield then headed towards Eccup. At Eccup I set our heading towards Elvington airfield just to the south east of York.

The Mixture Control

"Air density decreases with increase in height. This results in a lower weight of air being mixed with the same weight of fuel in the carburettor as an aeroplane climbs. Thus, the fuel/air mixture becomes 'richer' as height is gained and an increasing amount of fuel will remain unburned because of the reduced air available for the combustion process.

Corrective action to avoid the fuel wastage is usually taken on a high-level cruise (usually above 5,000ft and when the power is less than 75% maximum continuous power). This action is called leaning the mixture and is accomplished by moving the mixture control partially out, which reduces the weight of fuel mixing witht he air being taken into the carburettor."

From Trevor Thom's The Air Pilot's Manual 1 The blue skies on the ground had turned to white haze at 3000ft so we climbed to 4000ft. Things were not much better - a strip of dark pollution at this level - so we climbed further to 5000ft, leaning the mixture as we went.


The navigation was quite tricky. There was no point on the horizon to fix to due to the haze, we could only track by what we could see immediately below us so the map cross referencing was quite intense. I'd not been towards Elvington previously so I didn't know any features to look out for.


Almost on time we came over the airfield and confirmed the location by a small forest that was nearby. We then turned towards our next target just to the north east of Beverley.


On this leg we were blow slightly to the right of our course, this was confirmed by visual references on the ground so I made slight adjustments. The change in track probably due to flying at the higher altitude than planned and so the wind vector was slightly different. Leeds Approach advised us to hand over to Humberside Radar which I did with ease - apart from calling them Humberside Radio (oops). Switching to squawk 7000 and then to our new squawk allocated by Humberside.


En route we came across a huge complex below us which wasn't featured on the map. It turned out to be RAF Leconfield - the Defence School of Transport and also Europe's largest driver training establishment.

RAF Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopters are located here for North Sea emergency coverage so on the chart there is simply a circled H. I was looking for a helipad!


Beyond RAF Leconfield I made out the town of Tickton - our target and made a left hand orbit to spot Linley Hill Airfield (EGNY).

Passing to the south of Beverley I made another orbit to take in the view of the city, expecting my parents to we monitoring my excellent progress. It turns out that we were too high so they didn't get to seem me.


Flying towards Sandtoft we took in the Humber Bridge and crossed the Humber Estuary to intercept the River Trent. Our next target was Eastoft which was clearly identified by the surrounding roads.


We set course to fly back to Dewsbury and home, switching from Humberside Radar to Leeds Approach and resetting the squawk to the one we had been allocated previously.


We were given instructions to enter the zone at Dewsbury, not above 2000ft. I was planning on descending as late as possible in order to maintain visibility above the haze. Just as I was making my descending calculations we were called by Leeds and asked when we were to descend to avoid their airspace.


At first I was surprised that they were asking so early as we had plenty of time, then my instructor pointed out that we were about to fly into the Leeds Class D airspace above 3000ft. I informed Leeds I was descending immediately and made for 3000ft as soon as possible - with no complaints so I reckon we cleared the controlled space just in time.


And then on to Dewsbury. It was tricky following the chart as we were on airspace and corridor boundaries as well as roads and rivers and numerous conurbations. It was quite difficult to make out our position and the haze was so bad that even the Emley Moor tower wasn't visible - a very useful marker for pilots when it can be seen.

Scanning the ground ahead of us I noticed a water tower that had been pointed out to me on my previous Dewsbury approach, I then tracked the railway, river and canal that leads to Dewsbury and soon I was back on track and at 2000ft to enter the zone.


Heading directly north towards the airfield, I was given instructions to join right base for R09, which is obvious when thinking about it as we were heading 360 but I had to think about it when flying. We approached the airfield with Bradford to the left of me, Leeds to the right.


I was always on the lookout for a emergency landing field but there didn't seem to be too many around. The airfield was in sight and we were handed over to Leeds Tower. I made the pre-landing checks and estimated the whole approach and landing without input from the instructor - apart for him to point out Yeadon Tarn to use as a reference point for the end of the runway.


All was fine until I touched down. For the first time I had landed with the wings not quite level and so I was pulled sharply left on the runway. I wouldn't have liked that at a narrow strip such as Sandtoft! But because I had so much space I Leeds it was another good learning experience.


We cleared the runway, taxied around the big metal, back across R14 and to the General Aviation apron.


Another excellent lesson complete - my navigation is really strong and going forwards we need to plan a longer trip to Durham Tees Valley (EGNV), Newcastle (EGNT) or perhaps Carlisle (EGNC) to prepare me for my cross country solo.


But first more solo consolidation is needed and some more general handling to sharpen my flying skills.

Heading West Over The Pennine Hills

Flying Hours Today 1:15, Total 25:30

P1 Flying Hours Today 0:00, Total 0:15

Today we decided to take the Long Preston to Leyburn route that had been planned as a backup from last week.

This would be a useful exercise as we would be exiting the Leeds Bradford zone via the unfamiliar Keighley VRP. We would then be flying over the Pennines, making use of decent altitude to clear the hills. I would find myself flying in an area where I had no previous experience or knowledge so I would be navigating for the first time by purely mapping the view to the chart.

Another first today was a take off on R09 at Leeds Bradford. My R/T work was coming on strong and I took us all the way out on a right turn to leave the zone. At Keighley I requested and received clearance to climb to 3000ft and we were out in open country cross referencing the map all the time.

I had forgotten to note the time at Keighley but had reset the DME timer. We had Skipton the right after 4 minutes. It must have been Skipton as it was the only conurbation for miles around, yet it looked quite unfamiliar from the air. Long Preston came into view on time as expected, yet it took some more river / rail / road combinations to confirm our exact location. Time for a 4T check and call to ATC to report position and intentions then we turned right to go over the barren tops of the Pennines to Leyburn.

I thought this would be really challenging, there are few roads and rivers and no railways. Soon I started to see the various reservoirs dotted around and these actually became a great help as they are so few and far between it makes things easy to triangulate a position.

More radio chat with ATC regarding aircraft in our vicinity - most of which were behind us so rather difficult to see! I also did another first in leaning the mixture as we were cruising at 4000ft. I'd seen this done on a couple of occasions before but it was good to do it for myself - it isn't the most challenging thing to do but it is just another of those little things that has been ticked off the list.

Before long we arrived at Leyburn and confirmed our location by identifying the town based on timing, roads, rivers, railways and this time also the shape of the land based on the chart colourings and contours. It is interesting how, as the target town comes into view, there are checks to see what is around us, identification of various features then it all comes together.

It is a relief to be able to state, without any doubt, that we have the target in view. Sometimes our target might be a reservoir or forest some miles away, but the overall picture is correct.

Without warning my instructor stated that I needed to divert to a point to the west of Ripon, which turned out to be the village of Grantley. I had to quickly assess the direction, wind speed, estimated time of arrival etc.

I guessed the distance and time quite accurately - around 9 minutes which was shown on the clock to be quite true as we passed over the village, and this had taken into account the headwind. However my original heading was way off. I had reckoned on 175 degrees whereas in reality it should have been around 150.

Then I made my second blunder - I twisted the heading bug to just 5 degrees off west rather than south! Why? - I don't know. Only when I had made the setting did the instructor ask me to recheck. I had already stated 175 out loud so it was odd to make such a fundamental error. I set the bug correctly and flew off to the target.

After a few minutes it was apparent that my heading choice was wrong. We were heading to the right of two reservoirs, we should have been to the left. I changed the heading to 140 and before we knew it we were bang over the target and all in good time too. A good diversion exercise and my instructor was very pleased with my navigating ability.

Coming next was another practice forced landing. The instructor demonstrated one first, then it was my turn. My turn also to make my second blunder of the day. I checked the altimeter and reported 3600ft. I was asked to check again, it was actually 2600ft!! Again, how could I make such a fundamental error?

I went through the motions of the PFL and learned a lot again. What stood out in my mind was getting the glide attitude correct and trimming - this would mean that I wouldn't have to worry about flying the aircraft so much. I took that point and remembered as something to practice on circuits and approaches. Without actually pressing the transmit button on my radio I completed the mayday and committal checks. All good stuff.

Then it was back to the Leeds Bradford zone and permission granted to join base on R14. I should have used QFE sooner, the hills near the airport mean that it is easy to deceive yourself on approach especially to R14. I was a bit low but still made a fairly good landing.

My next time exercise will be another, longer, cross country route. I'm thinking that I'd like to fly over to where my parents live in Beverley. Following that exercise I should be able to move on to some solo consolidation.

Flying Over Yorkshire

Flying Hours Today 1:25, Total 24:15

P1 Flying Hours Today 0:00, Total 0:15

Today's lesson would consist of more navigation - both in the planning and the execution. I was given the option of a few places to fly to and chose Castle Howard, or to be more specific the villages of High Hutton and Low Hutton. Fortunately this is a route that I had planned as my homework.

The instructor also introduced me to backstops en-route to identify features that would show we had overshot our target, and also gross error check points that demonstrated that we were heading in the right direction at the start of a leg.

I marked a half way point on each leg to identify en-route. Finally I drew the wind vector on the chart so that we would always be aware of the general wind direction.

I'm biting the bullet now with my radio talk and did most of the work during taxi, take off and departing the zone. Remembering too to do the T&P check, setting the squawk and noted the time just before take off.

Routing out of the zone via Eccup, climbing to 3000ft with focus on altitude and direction for this leg. We climbed at the cruise speed in order to maintain timings.

The flying towards Castle Howard / Hutton was easy but lack of features makes the navigation more challenging. Railways and major roads are a great help. We arrived bang on target time of 17 minutes and positively identified the market town of Malton as the backstop. Today I learned another new acronym to remember, and to use when overhead a way point on my journey. The 4Ts: Twist, Turn, Time, Talk.

Twist the heading bug to the new heading, turn the aircraft onto the new heading, make a note of the time, then talk to ATC to give current known position and expected time at next position.

En-route to our next way point, Easingwold we flew over the disused airfield at East Moor and recognised it from our visit on the previous day. It still didn't look much like a disused airfield but we now know where it is and what to look for it was much easier to spot.

Easingwold appeared as the only conurbation ahead of us, but didn't see the rivers that were on the chart. I confirmed identity of Easingwold based on a significant fork in road and a disused railway line - lined with trees. We were satisfied that we knew where we were so informed ATC we were moving towards Ripon for general handling.

Soon I found that I was flying over Fountains Abbey, which is always a great sight from the air. It was time to practice stalls in clean configuration, approach configuration - full flap - and base to final turn configuration.

I hadn't done this for quite some time so I needed to be guided once again. My recovery attitude a bit too steep but doing OK. HASELL checks and HELL checks came back to mind as we practiced the drill.

Then on towards what I believed to be Brimham Rocks for a demonstration of a PFL - Practiced Forced Landing.

It is easy to instigate a PFL. Gain a decent amount of altitude, perhaps 3000ft and then simply cut the power. Remember during the exercise to apply power every now and then to keep the engine warm.

Using the 5Ss : Size, Shape, Slope, Surface, Surroundings and we identified a great field for our practiced forced landing. The instructor took me through this maneouver one time and it would be something we will be practicing in the coming hours.

Finally heading back to Leeds - I did the calls, entered the zone, switch to Tower, orbit over Eccup to wait for a Robin on R27 approach, with a Cessna above us. Then in for the landing. I'm still to the left of the centreline, there was a small amount of crosswind and this made me do a 'positive' landing that probably didn't help the suspension much. Then back to Multiflight via foxtrot and golf.

Homework for next time is to plan my own route, looking for good examples of road / rail / river intersections.

Navigating With The Wind

Flying Hours Today 1:00, Total 22:50

P1 Flying Hours Today 0:00, Total 0:15

There were strong, blustery crosswinds today. I could feel them buffeting my car on the M62 as I headed for the flying school. I didn't think we'd be getting airborne today especially with entries like "BECMG 0710 28018G32KT" on the short TAF for Leeds Bradford.

Arriving at the airport I noticed the windsock was horizontal, but it was still worthwhile going to the flying school today as I was going to plan my first navigation exercise, and I could do the planning on the ground regardless of the conditions.

I'd done the planning at home for my flight from Leeds Bradford to East Moor - a disused airfield to the north of York - and then to fly westward to a small village near Ripon that I found to be Winksley on a road map.

My navigation plan showed that I would be tracking from Eccup to East Moor at 53 degrees, then take a heading of 282 to get to Winksley. I had made the assumption that we would track from Eccup rather than the airport - and this was correct.

Next I had to print the 214 wind charts from Met Office and estimated the wind vector to be 325/30 at around 3000ft.

It had been a while since I'd used my flight computer to calculate the heading vector and I needed some assistance. My instructor showed me a very quick way to calculate the headings and soon I'd made all the calculations.

Our route crossed the 3.5W isogonal in both legs so we opted to go with the 3 degree variation as our turning point was on that side of the isogonal. A check of distance and speed on both legs 20nm @ 97kts, and 15nm @ 75kts and we were ready to go with a planned indicated airspeed of 100kts.

I booked us out with ATC and then we set off to the apron. At the aircraft I did the internal checks as the instructor did the externals. I took the chance today to let the instructor do the taxying and radio work and I simply listened in to get a better understanding.

We were give a long, long taxi from Multiflight all the way around to R27 via foxtrot, across R32 then via alpha.

Due to the strong crosswind the instructor also did the take off. Once over the rapidly shrinking Eccup reservoir I took control and reset the timer on the DME. It was time to do a gross error check to confirm we were en-route correctly - using the sun's position in the sky and the fact that Wetherby was on the nose I knew we were heading in the right direction.

On the chart we would be clipping the MATZ at RAF Linton-on-Ouse so I made a call on their frequency to see if anyone was operating. A response came back from another pilot that the MATZ was not in operation so I switched back to Leeds Approach. As time was passing, it was opportune for a FREDA check to take place.

I'd never been to East Moor before, on the ground or in the air, neither had the instructor. This made for a great challenge for the two of us to locate the disused airfield.

As the area is quite featureless we made use of more distant conurbations and the White Horse on Sutton Bank to fix our position.

After a few minutes of deliberation and scanning the fields for an old airfield we both concurred that a field we spotted did have characteristics of an old airfield. A long straight side of a field, different in colour and texture to the rest of the triangular field. A time check had shown that we had arrived on schedule.

Into a right hand orbit, set the heading bug, then on to Winksley. On this leg we were flying into the wind so there was significant buffeting. Throughout the day the climbing and descending winds had made it quite difficult to maintain altitude and this headwind didn't make things much easier.

We cross the A1, made use of RAF Linton-on-Ouse and RAF Dishforth as airfields to track our progress. Time for another FREDA check.

Ripon racecourse was another great feature to spot. Once we had found the racecourse and confirmed the town of Ripon was in our sights we began to look for a river the looped around the south of our target village.

Although the river couldn't be seen, the fact that there was wooded land following the same route of the expected river enabled us to concur that we had arrived on time and in the correct location.

Seeing a reservoir and a couple of villages ahead of us also confirmed our position based on the features on our navigation chart.

I made the turn south to head back towards Harrogate, using the aerials and radomes at RAF Menwith Hill as a reference point. In this leg the effect of the wind was very apparent. We were being blown sideways as we tracked back to the VRP. It was quite an odd sensation to see the ground not only moving behind us as we progressed, but also moving sideways at times.

We arrived at Harrogate and I did the radio calls for entry back into the Leeds Bradford zone via Eccup. Switching to Leeds Tower we were advised to land on R27 and to be aware of the potential wind shear on R32. I was a bit confused there - we were being told about conditions on R32, but to land on R27. The point was that there was known shear on R32 and so to be aware of it on R27

Leeds Bradford airport is one of the highest commercial airports in the UK and so gets more than its fair share of weather conditions. This means that being based out of Leeds Bradford gives the PPL student a great opportunity to learn and experience myriad weather conditions - I'm still waiting for the VA code to appear on the METARs!

The approach was uneventful until we came towards the R27 threshold. Then the wind shear became apparent as we were descending due to the downdraft, more power was needed, and then some more until we cleared the threshold, then the strong crosswinds had to be handled but in the end we were down safely and routed back to Multiflight to park up.

I was given some homework for the next day: plan two routes that will take us to a couple of villages near to Castle Howard, then route to Easlingwold, and also a route out of the zone via Keighley, to Long Preston and then to Leyburn. We would decide on the route based on the clouds and weather on Sunday morning.

Reading The METAR

Flying Hours Today 0:50, Total 21:50

P1 Flying Hours Today 0:00, Total 0:15

It was 35 days since my first solo flight, indeed 35 days since I had done any flying at all. The Great British Weather had conspired against me time after time. I was starting to feel rusty and wondering if I would every be able to reach the heady heights of flying solo again.

At home, early on Sunday morning, I checked the METAR and TAF for Leeds Bradford (EGNM) airport:

EGNM 030550Z 06002KT 5000 HZ SKC 03/01 Q1015

SKC? I had to look that one up, I'd never seen it before on a report at Leeds Bradford. It turned out to be what I expected: "Sky Clear". Excellent! The flying was back on so I headed for the flight school.

Upon arrival I met my new flying instructor - we had been introduced the previous week but the weather had kept us grounded. The instructor who had got me to my first solo flight had moved on to getting the job he wanted with a regional airline based out of Leeds and I was very grateful that he had got me to the solo flying point in my training.

Bad news: the haze had not cleared around the airfield and so any attempt to do some VFR navigation would be a struggle, although it would be legal. So we decided to do circuits, at Leeds.

This was a surprise, I didn't think we would be able to use such a busy airport for practicing so I jumped at the chance to get flying again and also to get more accustomed to the surroundings at Leeds. So far I'd only been flying direct approaches at the end of each lesson so the chance to fly around the airfield for an hour was not to be missed.

Out to Delta Delta (G-BODD) to do the A-Check, a top up of oil was all that was required and we were on our way.

I'm still struggling with the ATC radio, it always seems so obvious as to what to say but I don't want to make any assumptions or misinterpret any commands so at times the instructor did the talking.

I set the altimeter to QFE by simply subtracting 23mb from the QNH. As we know the airfield elevation and can translate that height into millibars of pressure - 23mb in this case and adjust the altimeter accordingly.

We lined up on R14 then away we went for a right hand circuit. At 500ft to 1000ft feet agl the haze was quite pronounced and flying a right hand circuit meant that I had to really stretch to look out for the runway behind and to the right of me. I was therefore using the DI to make sure my alignment was correct - but this didn't always work as planned as I still found myself drifting.

I called downwind then did the pre-landing checks. Or at least tried to. I knew the checks to do but kept blanking, then found I was gaining altitude etc. It wasn't the best bit of flying I've done. I was also using a pair of Peltor headphones from the flying school that were extremely comfortable but were cutting out or attenuating the ATC at times.

Before long we turned for base leg and I could sense that I was starting to suffer from information overload. Flying the final approach I was consistently to the left of the centre line. As EGNM has a full width runway it is also very forgiving.

I went through the procedures for landing, flaps, airspeed etc. etc. as I had been drilled to, but my new instructor took a different tack to a proscribed route - he wanted me to 'fly' the aircraft and make the decisions as I saw fit which was interesting as it made me think more about landing the aircraft rather than following a routine.

Unfortunately on this first approach I was taking too long to get us down, we were burning up runway at quite a rate so I instigated a go around. As we climbed away we were instructed to do a left hand circuit. The left hand circuit was much easier to fly as I could see the airfield at all times - hence the reason for left hand circuits as standard.

My height on the downwind leg was a bit high and by the time I had turned for base and then final approach we were quite far out from the runway, so it was time to push the throttle and get us somewhat nearer.

A good approach this time, still a bit left of the centre line, aiming for the numbers then touching down on the runway for a good landing. I'd used up too much runway, I need to be more focussed. My instructor encouraged me to think of the strip as being bounded by high walls and the length to be much shorter.

Again the luxury of a wide long runway was meaning that my landings were somewhat slack, but it gave me great confidence to be able to focus on landing rather than trying to hit the tiny strip that is Sandtoft.

The touch-and-go was followed by a right hand circuit. I was still getting back into the circuit routine of checks, flaps, attitude etc. etc. but this landing was pretty good, the stall warner just sounding as we touched down and then back around for a left hand circuit.

During this circuit a 737 was lining up for take off, there had been a lot of radio chatter with ATC during the downwind leg so I had to make a late downwind call when abeam of the runway threshold.

As I looked over I saw the 737 lining up for take off. Would the runway be clear by the time we were on finals? I certainly hoped so.

We informed ATC that we had turned base and saw the 737 taking off. Soon we were on final approach and cleared to land but also instructed to land, stop and then wait due to wake turbulence. I confirmed with the instructor what I had heard and responded to ATC.

Another decent landing, albeit a little hard, I was at least more on the centre line. Throttle back, brakes on and to a stop. This was bizarre, I was sat in my small PA28 in the middle of the primary runway at a major international airport. Just waiting. Sitting there taking in the view.

After a couple of minutes ATC gave take off clearance and away we went to fly a right hand circuit. By this time I was getting the hang of things but was getting the information overload - I didn't feel that I was progressing much further today after having made a few good landings, and the haze wasn't improving so we decided to make the next landing a full stop landing.

On the base leg the instructor challenged me to make this a glide approach. He asked me to throttle back at the point where I would be able to make it to the airfield. This was interesting as I didn't really have a clue!

So he made the decision for me, we were on the base leg, about 800ft agl. He took the throttle all the way back and suggested I fly us home as a glider. This was fun. I left the flaps until they were really needed then it was a case of touching down centrally, gently and on target. I felt good that I'd managed to get back in to the swing of things and that I could still land the aircraft.

Taxy back to MultiFlight West, via Lima and then the usual closedown. I still struggle with ATC but I must be improving as I now at least anticipate what should be said and am generally correct. I really want to focus on taking the lead on this going forwards and relying less on my instructor - something I will have to do before I can even contemplate a solo cross country flight.

Back to the flight school, and I've been given some homework: to plan a route to the far side of York, returning to Leeds via Ripon. When we get to execute this we will simply put in the wind vectors at that time and away we go.

I also visited the AirSupply aviation suppliers on the way home and bought a pair of the Peltors similar to the ones that I'd been using for the lesson. I'd found them to be extremely comfortable and clear, so I traded in the air-band scanner I'd bought last year as it wasn't getting any practical use. Here's to next week's flying - weather permitting of course!