Wake Vortex: A Wake Up Call!

Flying Hours Today 2:15, Total 34:50

P1 Flying Hours Today 0:45, Total 4:20

Today was one of those full of flying experiences that I'll remember for some time to come. I should have known it was to be an interesting day when we started the flying lesson as we took off from Leeds (EGNM).

Departure instructions on R32 were to take off with left turn to exit the zone. I took off and at 500ft was instructed to make a right turn so my visualisation of our route was scrapped and I made for the easier and safer route out of the zone via Eccup. Flying over countryside rather than houses.

We left Leeds for Sandtoft today for more circuit consolidation. I need to build up my solo flying hours and really get my landings and circuit pattern nailed. I'm quite fine with this as I believe the navigation exercises are well covered and one of my apprehensions has been my ability to be able to land anywhere and in most conditions.

All was going fine with the instructor then I was let out on my own. My first circuit was fine, but on the second touch and go there was a crosswind on the narrow runway at Sandtoft (EGCF). I landed and used rudder for alignment, I had over aligned, so corrected in the other direction, but overcompensated. At the same time applying full power for a touch and go, by now weaving all over the place and heading for what looked like the edge of the tarmac at the wrong angle.

Quick decision time - stay or go? Brakes or power? Within a second I was aloft and so elected to continue, phew, but not too steeply please as there are buildings at the end of the runway so a fast shallow climb better than steep and slow to bust through any turbulence. I was really shaken by that incident.

Flying the following downwind I must have lost so much concentration I dropped to 700ft without noticing. Time to shape up and get back to 1000ft and sort things out. A strong word to myself and I got myself back on track with a few more touch-and-goes but that drop in altitude really did worry me - it simply shouldn't be happening at this stage in my flight training.

This flying business really focusses the mind - you can't decide to stop and get off when the ride gets bumpy. You need to focus until you are parked safely on the ground with the engine switched off.

I completed a few more touch-and-goes, all quite acceptable and the occasional greaser. On the last landing is came to a full stop to pick up my flying instructor and the we headed back to Leeds. A simple and familiar flight: heading of 280, joining from the east.

At Leeds the active runway today is 32, with right hand circuits. In my head, and looking out of the window I am visualising the situation. We are approaching a north westerly runway, from the east. Usual manner is to join base which would be 230, a simple left turn to get into position.

But not today, there was big iron in the vicinity - Boeing 737s - so I had to join downwind, i.e. 140. I was already heading to the downwind leg, but the wrong way around for a right hand circuit. The situation wasn't helped by another training PA28 given instructions to take off for a right hand circuit from runway 32.

Now I trust the judgement of ATC but I wasn't comfortable with being asked to join downwind by flying the opposite way along the downwind leg in order to turn tightly 180 degrees onto downwind especially when knowing another pilot was in the circuit on crosswind at this time. That manoeuvring was slightly unsettling but not too bad for what was to come.

We do the 180 turn and get settled on downwind. As a Ryanair B737 was approaching to land I was asked by ATC to do a couple of left hand orbits before base turn. A tip here from the instructor is to orbit around a fixed point - I chose a small lake and flew around that as the Ryanair jet landed.

Keep using the turn indicator to maintain the 2 min orbit but also fix to the ground position. This ensures that you don't drift and that in marginal weather you will always be sure of your position.

ATC instructed us to give 6 minutes clearance from the 737 to avoid any wake turbulence so we fly a long downwind and base. I'm now overflying built up Leeds for the first time away from the airfield so no chance to stretch a glide for landing.

I asked the instructor where he would put down in event of engine failure. He nominates a couple of football pitches that look so small to me, and surrounded by trees and houses. How on Earth would I be able to fly and land on those postage stamp sized fields?

I turned for final some way out, perhaps 4nm, and set up the aircraft for a nice gentle approach. Some 2 miles out, at 600ft, the aircraft just DROPS out of the sky, lurches to the right and down.

My instructor grabs the controls with none of the 'I have control' niceties. Kicks left rudder and left aileron, nose down, power etc. recovers in seconds but felt like forever.

I continue and do a good landing. It would appear that we got caught in the wake vortex of the 737. I've read about this but it was absolutely terrifying. Like a stall but with zero warning, no buffeting, no warner etc. I don't honestly know what I would have done if I'd been flying solo. We could have so easily gone into a spin and at only 600ft wouldn't have had much chance to recover.

I'm still ruminating over that one. A very close escape. That was one of those great learning opportunities that you can read all about in the flying books but until it happens you would never be able to have it explained to you on the ground.