General Flying Test - Part 1

Flying Hours Today 2:00, Total 53:00

P1 Flying Hours Today 2:00, Total 12:15

It's been over 18 months since I wrote my first blog entry, so I think this is a good time to review some facts and figures that I've notched up during those 18 months...

• One Medical
• One R/T Theory Exam
• Two Flying Schools
• Two Aircraft Types
• Seven Exam Papers
• Seven Different Aircraft
• Eight Instructors
• Eleven Text Books
• Ten Different Airfields (Grass strip to Class D ATC)
• Dozens Of Take Offs And Landings
• 51 Flying Hours, 10 Of Them Solo
• About £7,500 In Cash
• A Number Of Scares
• Even More Highs

I've been ready for my skills test probably since my 45th hour. There comes a time when it all starts to fit into place and the individual skills and actions become one.

I'm thinking here of the precise and skilled flying in the circuit, the overhead join at a distant airfield, the R/T dialogue with various station types, flying the aircraft by 'feel' rather than following the numbers on the instruments.

As the test date drew closer I found myself reading and re-reading the CAA documentation on the test: "CAA JAR FCL Notes for the Guidance of Applicants taking the PPL Skill Test (Aeroplanes). Standards Document 19."

This is a must for any of you preparing for the test as it documents exactly what you will be tested on. One of the test objectives is for the candidate to demonstrate recovery from a spiral dive - I don't recall this in my training so read up on it in the flight training manuals. And yes - it did come up in the test! I also found myself revisiting "CAP 413 Radio Telephony Manual" for a brush up on MATZ and controlled airspace terminology.

The weather this week has been fantastic for flying. There was no way that my Saturday morning appointment could be cancelled, even on Tuesday the long range forecast showed Saturday to be fine, bright, sunny and cold. Perfect weather for a skills test. However on Friday I received a call from the flying school. Could we move the test to the afternoon? Phew! no problem. Afternoon might actually be better as any early fog or mist will have burned off, I would also have extra revision hours.

I was up early to start my revision and after checking NOTAMS and weather charts took a look at the TAFs and METARs for the area of my test. Just looking at these gave me the biggest grin. Could I ask for better weather for a skills test?

TAFs
DONCASTER FINNINGLEY : EGCN 190907Z 191019 24003KT 6000 NSC BECMG 1013 CAVOK
EAST MIDLANDS : EGNX 190902Z 191019 VRB03KT 7000 NSC TEMPO 1011 3000 BR TEMPO 1016 CAVOK
HUMBERSIDE : EGNJ 190907Z 191019 24003KT 3000 FEW020 BECMG 1013 9000
LEEDS BRADFORD : EGNM 190907Z 191019 27007KT CAVOK

METARs
DONCASTER FINNINGLEY : EGCN 190920Z 30003KT 7000 SKC 00/00 Q1033
EAST MIDLANDS : EGNX 190950Z 27002KT 5000 BR SKC M00/M01 Q1032
HUMBERSIDE : EGNJ 190950Z 24004KT 3500 BR FEW010 00/M01 Q1032
LEEDS BRADFORD : EGNM 190950Z 28005KT CAVOK 02/M00 Q1031

Just before I set off for my 1400hrs appointment I checked again, it was getting better - look at the wind on the METARs for Doncaster and East Midlands!

TAFs
DONCASTER FINNINGLEY : EGCN 191205Z 191322 27003KT CAVOK
EAST MIDLANDS : EGNX 191201Z 191322 VRB03KT 9000 NSC TEMPO 1316 CAVOK BECMG 1922 4000 BR TEMPO 2022 0200 FZFG VV///
HUMBERSIDE : EGNJ 191205Z 191321 VRB03KT 4000 HZ FEW060 TEMPO 1318 6000
LEEDS BRADFORD : EGNM 191205Z 191322 26006KT CAVOK

METARs
DONCASTER FINNINGLEY : EGCN 191150Z 00000KT 9000 SKC 05/03 Q1033
EAST MIDLANDS : EGNX 191220Z 00000KT 9000 SKC 04/01 Q1032
HUMBERSIDE : EGNJ 191220Z 23003KT 3500 BR FEW010 04/02 Q1032
LEEDS BRADFORD : EGNM 191220Z 27006KT CAVOK 05/02 Q1031

I arrived at the flying school at 1330. The examiner was out flying so I took the note he had left me: plan a route from the M1/M18 VRP to Beverley then Louth and back to Sheffield. Not a problem.

A beautifully drawn up route with the closing angle error lines, the safe altitudes, times, expected fuel burn, etc. etc. was produced. For the first time in all my planning the wind vector was 0/0. No wind correction factor to consider at all. I was slightly disappointed in this as I wanted to be able to demonstrate that I knew how to apply the correction factor with the whiz wheel.

It was at this time that the other pilots coming in and out of the flying school were repeatedly talking about how brilliant the weather aloft was. They also commented on how busy it was - my R/T would have to be sharp and on-the-ball today.

I completed the other paperwork, weight and balance check etc. and presented this and my route plan to the examiner on his return.

All was in order and he briefed me on what we would do and how we would do it, for example during the navigation exercise he would act as a passenger, during the handling exercises he would handle the radio.

We talked about a diversion that would happen and other areas I would be examined on. He explained that he was testing me against the CAA criteria but was also looking for those intangibles such as good airmanship and handling of the aircraft - his rule of thumb: would he let a non-flying member of his family go flying with me as one of my passengers.

After the briefing the examiner sent me out to check over the aircraft and joined me after five minutes. This is when the test began properly. The examiner was friendly and talkative and simply followed me into the aircraft and sat down.

It was a bit like play acting to talk to an experienced pilot as passenger but I explained to him how to close and open the door, how to insert his head phones, how to buckle up. I explained the emergency drill and his responsibilities. Pointed out the fire extinguisher and first aid box etc.

This actually worked better than expected and I began to feel in control. Reminiscent of being on a solo cross country flight but with a passenger.

It was down to me to do all the checks, start up and then call the tower for airfield information. I did get the examiner to take control to test the brakes - something drilled into me. Although this is a skills test I would still want to ensure that we are flying as safely as possible.

Final Training Flight

Flying Hours Today 2:35, Total 51:00

P1 Flying Hours Today 1:40, Total 10:15

Today I had planned a simple route that would help to burn up some of the required time to get my solo 10hrs in the bag. A familiar route over Beverley, up the east coast of Yorkshire to Scarborough. West to Malton passing over the village where my grandmother lived and then back south to Gamston.

I planned my route based on weather, distance and timing and identified key navigation waypoints and ensuring I would have enough fuel on board - 3 hours at tabs, 5 hours at full.

I wasn't expecting any issues today as it was blue sky CAVOK weather and a decent breeze from the west. On my chart I plotted nav routes that would follow the 030 radial out of Gamston (EGNE), then the 350 radial from OTR, Ottringham near Hull.

This would take me to Scarborough where I would turn west and track the A64 road to Malton then route back south to Gamston.

I updated the paper behind the clear wipe surface of my kneeboard, adding the frequencies for Sheffield (EGSY), Gamston (EGNE), Doncaster (EGCN), Humberside (EGNJ) and Leeds (EGNM). Also a reminder to Time, Twist, Turn and Talk, and a small quadrant for flight altitudes and headings.

Out to the aircraft to put an additional quart of oil in the sump to keep the levels up. I'd forgotten what flying in autumn and winter was like. Nice clear skies but very cold on the fingers when turning clips and caps.

Power up and radio checks were uneventful. We were given instructions to taxi via Bravo for R10 right at Sheffield. This was my first reality check. In all my time at Sheffield so far I have waited for the information regarding R28 and this time we would be going 'the wrong way around' so I had to think about things for a while.

At Bravo we started the power checks and for the first time ever the magneto checks showed very rough running when only the left magneto was selected. And I mean very rough running. If I'd been on my own I would have turned back to get an engineer to check things over.

In this case the instructor took control and played with the throttle and mixture for a few seconds to burn away the carbon that had accumulated on the magneto. Following this the mag check was fine, as expected.

We backtracked R10 with a DA40 following behind to hold in the loop. Once the runway was clear I followed the 'Lights / Camera / Action' activity by turning on the landing light, setting the transponder to 7000 in mode C, checking the Ts & Ps and noting the time.

As we began rolling I heard on the radio a helicopter being warned of our intentions by the tower. As we picked up power and speed the instructor took control and we aborted the take off as the helicopter came visible overhead. Better safe than sorry and deferred to the landing aircraft.

We short backtracked, turned, and soon were on our way to Gamston. After take off it was time for the appropriate checks using the FEAL acronym: Flaps (up), Engine (Ts & Ps correct), Altimeter (sub scale set), and Landing Light off.

I still have difficulties seeing airfields from the air and Gamston was almost upon us as we joined left base for R21. There were two aircraft on the runway ready for take off so I had to fly slowly to wait until they had departed.

I made a good landing then dropped the instructor and set off to Bravo to hold for R21. I completed the power checks once more, the magnetos worked fine this time.

There were three aircraft in the circuit, one came in then two others very close together on a straight in approach with one landing and the other going around. I took this as my opportunity to make a break for it and soon I was airborne, climbing and making a left turn to lock onto the 030 radial to track it north eastwards.

I left the Gamston zone and switched to Doncaster and told to standby. There wasn't too much traffic around but the controller was busy with a Boeing 737 on the ground.

I continued my track and eventually passed my message to Doncaster and was given my squawk. However by now I was crossing the Humber with the bridge to my right and was quickly transferred over to Humberside where I was given another squawk.

It was at this point that I realised I hadn't put the transponder back into Alt mode and hadn't been transponding to Doncaster at all. The ATC must have been so busy that he didn't have time to get me to ident.

The now familiar route of Humber, Brough, Beverley was passing below. I overflew Linley Hill and made out the distinctive landmarks around it for future reference.

Onwards now to Carnaby, checking that parachuting wasn't active in the area. I estimated my time of arrival to be at 1110 and tracked both visually and using the VORs of Gamston (030) and Ottringham (350). On schedule I was overhead Carnaby then turned to track the Ottringham 350 radial to Scarborough.

There was a lot of other traffic around today, with many student solo exercises being undertaken. The Humberside controller was very professional in keeping us all up to date and regularly making position check requests.

As I approached Scarborough I received the usual check on my intentions - basically be aware of entering the restricted area around Fylingdales moor. I was already planning ahead for this and made my turn to track the A64 and Scarborough to York railway.

Until this point I had been flying at around 4500ft to 5000ft. At Scarborough a front of clouds was very slowly drifting southwards so I descended to 2000ft to fly beneath this bank and as far as Sherburn to view the small village where my grandmother used to live.

A check on the watch showed that I had now flown far enough to fly back with enough solo time in the bank. From Sherburn I headed due south to Driffield. With the sun in my eyes it wasn't easy to see too far ahead so ground tracking skills and listening closely to the radio were the order of the day.

I've been to Driffield many times on the ground in the past but would never have been aware of the airfield there. Obviously disused now, but with 4 large hangars in quite good condition there is obviously still some purpose for the estate to be there.

Soon we were at Leconsfield heading due south to intercept the 210 radial that will take me back to Gamston.

The familiar route back to Gamston was relaxing. Using the 210 track is also a great help as it lines me up directly with the active runway on arrival.

The crosswind was making the VOR tracking exercise more demanding but much more fun. When the runway came into sight I then had to take over visually and leave the VOR behind.

The circuit wasn't busy and I managed to make a straight in approach and landing. Without stopping the engine I picked up my instructor and we were soon heading back to Sheffield.

The route to Sheffield is to follow the 330 track to 13nm on the DME. As we approached this distance I requested a switch from Doncaster to Sheffield and made a call that we were at the VRP in bound.

As the weather had not changed dramatically we assumed R10 right would be active. I made the calls but no response. Made calls again. Weak response. Mmm... radio problem. What to do? Obvious was to switch to the second radio. We soon got Sheffield back on the COM radio and found that the active was R28 so made for a straight in approach - keeping a close eye on the hovering helicopter overhead.

Post landing checks were carried out as we left the active runway: flaps, carb heat, trimmer, landing light. Doing these checks is key to passing the skills test so I'm really clear about completing them on every flight at the moment, which isn't a bad thing.

During the week I popped into Leeds Flying School to pick up certification of my exam passes. These are written on an official application form that will be submitted to the CAA. Having this form really made the skills test real. If all goes to plan I could be a licenced PPL pilot within days!

Cessna C150 Conversion

Flying Hours Today 1:05, Total 35:55

P1 Flying Hours Today 0:00, Total 4:20

I got the chance to go up in a Cessna C150 Aerobat at the weekend at Humberside airport (EGNJ). It was supposed to have been a trial flying lesson for a friend but he wasn't keen on flying in such a small aircraft so we did a deal and I bought the voucher from him.

The Cessna 150 Aerobat is a really different aircraft to my usual PA28: so small, compact and light. Humberside airport was fun too - visiting somewhere of this size for the first time as a pilot in training was interesting. I'd already checked up on the Pooleys Flight Guide for the layout and radio and was ready to go.

The principles of the pre-flight check, taxiing and handling were all the same but the takeoff run was quite different to what I'm used to. Full throttle then... take off. Where was the ground run? I expect to watch the speed increase, runway disappearing, but no, this was like a balloon - straight up and in the air.

I found the Cessna to be a bit wobbly and twitchy in flight, but in return got much more of a sensation of 'flying'. I also learned to counter wing drops with opposing rudder. Something I've never made the conscious effort to do in the PA28 due to its stability. So that was very useful point to pick up.

Cruising speed was excruciatingly slow. It would have been quicker to land back at the airport, get in the car, and drive to our destination. But then I wouldn't have been given the opportunity to take some great photos of the Humber Bridge and other sites of interest for friends and family who live in the area.

The north tower of the Humber Bridge, on the right in the photo below, is a VRP - Visual Reporting Point - for local pilots, it can be seen from miles around and attracts a lot of attention from other pilots so we had to maintain a keen look-out for other aircraft in the vicinity.

My R/T was a bit rusty partly due to the poor comms set in the plane - or maybe I'm spoilt usually, and that I have my routine so ingrained from Leeds Bradford that I found it hard to switch to a different airport's features and requests.

Arriving back at Humberside airport we had some time to spare so I took the chance to do one touch and go on R03 in a left hand circuit. The first approach was fun, with a Dash 8 as the number 1 and being told to delay for wake vortex.

Regular readers will recall my last encounter with wake vortex so won't be surprised to hear that I made for a very wide berth and aimed to land beyond the touch down point of the Dash 8 a tip given to me previously by other pilots.

Touchdown was so smooth, it felt much easier and more focussed than in the PA28 which I wasn't expecting as I felt the C150 would be much more susceptible to the light crosswind.

On the second circuit we called it a day, we would have had to have done a full stop landing anyway due to a KLM Fokker 100 taking off and leaving a wake vortex.

I was encouraged that both of my crosswind landings were pretty good, maybe I'm starting to get the hang of the crossed controls and once it becomes natural then it makes the approach and landing so much easier rather than having to consciously think about flying the aircraft.

My only piece of self criticism was that in the circuit I didn't drop to 500 ft in the base leg. Remaining at 1000ft. This felt more appropriate so that we had a long slow glide on finals. I also know that my R/T needs to be sharper as I couldn't always hear what was being stated or requested. I asked the FI what I should be working on but he didn't say there really was much to do except more practice to round things off.

That was useful feedback as the lesson had felt somewhat like an exam with someone new reviewing my capability

So now I have an entry in the log book for an additional type and would definitely be interested in doing some more Cessna flying in future.

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.