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!

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.

Leeds Circuits

Flying Hours Today 1:00, Total 32:35

P1 Flying Hours Today 0:30, Total 3:35

Although I have been making good progress in my flight training I still feel that the most important, and mandatory, aspect of flying is still not quite as good as it should be... the landing.

So today we took an hour out to do some circuits at Leeds to get me back into practice for landings.

These were circuits with my third instructor. Some people have difficulty changing instructors but I have no problems and take it as an opportunity to pick up new skills and ideas that other instructors might not have.

As expected I learned some new skills and new approaches to handling the aircraft. I found the method used today to be more appropriate to my way of thinking. It was more logical and everything fitted together better.

Take off was as usual - remembering 'Lights, Camera, Action' as yet another phrase to commit to memory. Lights on for take off and landing, camera is the squawk - so others can see you, and action is when things begin so recall a clapperboard and make a note of the time.

Climing in the normal circuit pattern to 1000ft, level off but before turning and adjusting power, trim to 95kts. Follow this with the turn and then adjust power to maintain height and speed. At the end of the downwind leg drop the power to 1800rpm then turn. After turning, the speed with be OK for flap deployment. Drop two stages, bring the airspeed to 80kts then trim for the powered glide at that speed. Before you know it you will be at 600ft and at the right position to turn for final. Do so then glide at 70kts for final approach and for a great touch down.

The weather was good today - no need for any crosswind adjustments but I will need to start practicing in them again soon, which shouldn't be too difficult in the UK, and especially so at Leeds Bradford (EGNM), as it is situated on the brow of a hill.

After six circuits with the instructor - a mix of left and right hand circuits - I was sent out on my own to complete as many circuits as I saw fit. I would be doing solo right hand circuits due to the traffic pattern at EGNM - this doesn't leave much room for error in this built up and hilly part of the zone. Left hand is much easier from R32 as you have R27 as a fall back to land on if there are issues on the downwind.

By now the airport was waking up and the big commercial jets from KLM and BMI were interrupting my schedule. On one touch and go I noted a KLM jet a the hold point near threshold of R14, waiting for me to clear. On the downwind leg I had to make a right hand orbit to allow the KLM jet to line up and take off. It was quite enjoyable to just hang there in the air watching all this happening. Also quite humbling to watch the take off speed and climb rate of these aircraft - puts the PA28 capability into perspective.

On one of the circuits I noted the aircraft approaching the stall on final approach. I don't know if this was for real, or my imagination, or just turbulence. I checked the speed at 70kts which was correct, but it did give me a brief cause for concern. Due to this, and the fact that I was beginning to get mentally tired I made one more circuit before calling it a day and returned to the GA apron, shut down and returned to the flying school for a debrief.

I won't be flying again for 3 weeks due to holidays, and then another 3 weeks due to other commitments so I'll target the last week in July for further consolidation and hope to include some flap-less and flapped landings at a smaller airfield such as Sandtoft weather permitting.

An Audience, A Failure

Flying Hours Today 0:00, Total 31:35

P1 Flying Hours Today 0:00, Total 3:05

I had an audience today for the first time. My parents were in town so they came to the airport to watch me take off. I first took them airside for a tour around the aircraft - checking off the line items in the A-Check and explaining the various activities and their importance.

After escorting my parents off the airfield I strapped myself in, fired up the engine and received my taxi instructions to hold at F3.

I was expecting to get there and then to do my power checks. However the airport was very busy with GA - General Aviation - traffic so it was an expedited backtrack along R27, across R32, exit at A3 then hold.

I did so and at the hold I started the power checks. Half way through, just after the magcheck I was requested to enter the apron, turn 180 and hold again at A3 but facing the other direction. When I had turned around I received departure clearance and completed the power checks. I was almost ready to report ready for take off.

During my final checks I noticed the HSI - Horizontal Situation Indicator hadn't moved! It wasn't aligned with anything remotely like the direction I was in.

I checked the compass and my heading relative to R27. This thing was not operational at all. For the first time I closely checked the CBs - circuit breakers - and various switches. Nothing.

So had to tell ATC I had a problem and needed to return to the GA apron and flying was cancelled for the rest of the slot as there wouldn't be time to fix things and re-plan my route.

I should have been checking instruments on the taxi, but was busy getting into position. However this was a very valuable lesson in continuing through the checklist line by line to the very end.

My method is to talk out loud as if explaining to someone what I'm checking and why. This time I pointed at the HSI and confirmed that it indicated the reality outside. 100% of the time until now it had done, but this one time it didn't.

The aircraft was still capable of being flown, I would have just had a rude awakening as I attempted to turn on my first heading and would have had to report back to land at Leeds (EGNM) immediately.

Most disappointing though was that my parents didn't get to see me take off. They had heard so much about my flying exploits over the past year and it was just my luck that on the day they would be watching the aircraft would become unserviceable and not suitable for a training flight.

Instead I should have been taking off just like this pilot.

CAVOK Cross Country

Flying Hours Today 1:50, Total 31:35

P1 Flying Hours Today 1:50, Total 3:05

What a fantastic day for flying. The weather is CAVOK skies and zero wind which will make for great flying along my planned route which today will see me leaving Leeds Bradford (EGNM) and flying directly to the Humber Bridge. From there I'll head up to the disused airfield that was RAF Carnaby and then on to Scarborough before returning to Leeds.

This was my first completely solo expedition, once I was airside at Leeds I was on my own. And today the PA28 needed oil and fuel so I had to make to call to the handling agents.

I thought things couldn't get much better as the air was perfect, then as I was getting the PA28 refuelled - a Spitfire and a Hurricane from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight made a low flypast along R32. It was one of those moments in life where I really regret not having a camera with me.

Time to take off, and I was soon en-route. Switching quickly from Leeds to Church Fenton (EGXG). It was busy in the air today - everyone else must have seen the glorious weather and decided to do some flying.

I flew without incident towards the Humber Bridge in near perfect conditions, as I crossed the M62 I switched to Humberside Radar and passed my message of who I was, where I was and my intentions to fly to the bridge then up to Scarborough.

As there was no discernable wind I flew the heading as the track and was soon over the bridge - a spectacular site.

Routing 020 towards Carnaby there was a lot of traffic about - some of it not in radio contact so I had to keep my eyes open and maintain a close watch out of the window. I soon spotted another aircraft passing below me on almost a similar track (probably 040) and headed directly out over the sea - for a low level run to Holland?

The disused RAF base at Carnaby was quite easy to spot. It was used in WWII as an emergency landing field for returning bombers who could just about make land, but no further. Overhead Carnaby I turned to head north and on to Scarborough.

Flying over Scarborough the sea and beaches looking fantastic in the sunshine. I turned back to Leeds at the north end of the town. I could see the radar at the RAF Fylingdales early warning radar station and didn't want to encroach there - having heard Humberside asking a pilot if he knew he was in a danger zone earlier.

As I approached York from the east I was given clearance to enter the zone at Leeds. So by the time I arrived over Eccup I was well prepared for my approach and landing.

I was instructed to join right base for R32 and report final. At this time I could very clearly hear someone attempting to contact Leeds - but with no reply. Before long the pilot of theWest Yorkshire Police Helicopter picked up the message and relayed it to Leeds who in turn asked for the police to request a 'pass your message' from the calling aircraft.

It turned out the calling aircraft was on the west side of the Pennines, miles from where I was yet it was out of direct sight from Leeds. The messages were relayed between the aircraft, the police and Leeds and eventually the other pilot was able to make direct contact with Leeds

The remainder of the route home to Leeds was routine until I came across gliders from theYork Gliding Center in the skies over Rufforth. Those things can really move and climb. After getting visual with one I decided to give it a wide berth as I saw just how agile they are.

After almost 1hr 50m at the controls I must have been feeling tired. My approach was very poor, I was going to request a go around but as R32 at Leeds is so long I decided to continue with the approach and touched down way down the runway. I was so far down the runway that I had to exit on Foxtrot. Shame on me - those who know Leeds (EGNM) will agree. But another great solo nav in the book, and flying on days like this is so amazing - you just want to share the experience with everyone.

During the debrief one of the new instructors at the flying school asked me about my pre-landing check routing. I mentioned first of all the brakes and to confirm that the parking brake was indeed off. He also mentioned the importance of pumping the foot brakes - in case there is no pressure there you will know about this before you land. He had had to land previously with failed brakes and it is better to know about this ahead of time before you touch down - yet another useful tip that I'll commit to memory for my next flight.

Cross Country Solo

Flying Hours Today 1:20, Total 29:45

P1 Flying Hours Today 1:00, Total 1:15

Last weekend my flying lesson had been cancelled due to low cloud. At the time I had been expecting to fly to Sandtoft (EGCF) to practice circuits and get some more local solo flying experience. It wasn't worth going above the clouds for further consolidation training of turns and general handling so the lesson was cancelled with the agreement of my instructor.

It has now been some 3½ months since I last flew solo - at the end of February. I haven't been in the sky alone since that date, instead I've been focussing on completing the flight training syllabus and doing a great deal of navigation. I haven't even been doing any circuit bashing.

So I turned up at the flying school today expecting last week's delayed plan to be put into action. How wrong could I be?

A senior flight instructor, who I'd not seen before, was waiting with a piece of paper and some questions to ask me. After he had reviewed my flying notes and I'd answered the questions to his satisfaction - what to do if lost, entering cloud, entering MATZ etc. - I signed the dotted line. I was authorised to go cross country solo!

Pilot Navigation

"When you have completed most, or all, of you basic flying training, the next challenge awaiting you is to deal with cross-country navigation.

Flying to another aerodrome, perhaps quite distant requires the additional knowledge and skills encompassed in flight planning and navigation."

From Trevor Thom's The Air Pilot's Manual 1 I absolutely wasn't expecting this. I was a bag of nerves. I planned a familiar route: Leeds (EGNM), Castle Howard, Elvington, Leeds. Then made all the appropriate checks of weather and NOTAMs, checked, then rechecked than got my flying instructor to check one of the leg calculations.

I still was in a bit of a daze. I was going to go and fly some distance alone. I needed some reassurance so asked the flying instructor to take me up for a single circuit at Leeds Bradford - having recalled my last flight with ear problems I wanted to know that I'd be ok today.

I did the circuit extremely well, everything came together perfectly. The flying instructor got out and I was on my own at EGNM. I did everything right, especially the R/T and preflight checks, and soon was at Harrogate and changing my heading Castle Howard.

The route took me through the Linton-on-Ouse (EGXU) MATZ (Military Aerodrome Traffic Zone), and so I checked with Leeds ATC to confirm that it wasn't active - and as it was a weekend, the MATZ was clear. From there I flew on to Castle Howard passing the disused RAF East Moor airfield, a navigation way point from an earlier flight. All was going OK and to plan.

At Castle Howard I turned to Elvington, called Leeds with position and expected time at my next way point.

En route I was told of some unidentified traffic at my 2 o'clock, it turned out to be two microlights about 1000ft below me. Ahead, bang on the nose came Elvington runway, a long straight strip in the distance. I tried to confirm my position by looking for Full Sutton (EGNU), but couldn't make it out. I do find it difficult looking for grass strips from the air. I'm sure I identified the prison next to the airstrip so that gave me some comfort as a potential marker to confirm my position.

Keeping a good lookout, and heading directly for Elvington I suddenly noticed a large airfield in my 11 o'clock. Oh dear, something was amiss here. Further inspection of the 'runway' ahead now that it was getting nearer showed that it was actually a straight stretch of the A64 York by-pass but from where I was positioned it looked like a long runway strip. At this distance I couldn't see any traffic on the road. It did look like a long runway in the countryside.

I turned to Elvington and noted the time as I flew overhead, changed my heading for Eccup and reported my position to Leeds Approach.

I had been cruising at an altitude of 3100ft to avoid the Church Fenton MATZ. The cloud base was getting lower so I dropped to 2900ft. A minute or two later I realised I was still in the RAF Church Fenton (EGXG) MATZ. Oh Dear! I quickly made a call to Leeds to ask if the base was active today. They couldn't confirm, so offered me the Church Fenton tower frequency.

I didn't really know what procedure to follow so I made a sharp turn north to get out of the MATZ. This took me over York Racecourse where I could see the preparations for Royal Ascot well underway. I recalled the NOTAM for next week that the racecourse would be a temporary heliport ATZ, bring the rich and famous to this racing event in the North of England while the Ascot racecourse was undergoing redevelopment.

Once out of the MATZ I visually navigated around the boundary. North of Tadcaster then on to Boston Spa and Wetherby, using the radomes at RAF Menwith Hill as a reference point.

All too soon I was homing in on Eccup for entry back into the Leeds zone. Permission was granted to enter the zone, I was handed over to Leeds Tower. All the R/T was going very smoothly.

Leeds Tower gave me instructions for a right base for R32, I had written down the QFE and entered it in the altimeter. But then thought again: was that the QNH or QFE?

So I did what I've been trained to do and requested the QFE again. It was the value that I'd entered but it was good to get the confirmation from the tower. There was landing and taking off traffic as I approached the field but I slotted in perfectly for final approach.

An absolute greaser of a landing - why do these only happen when no one is in the aircraft to witness them? Parked up, closed down and back for the debrief.

Absolutely amazing. This solo cross country trip has given me so much confidence. A brilliant day of flying.

Low Flying, Whiz Wheels, Unfit To Fly

Flying Hours Today 1:25, Total 28:25

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

Following my long holiday in Latin America I had a double flying lesson booked. It was time to review the final aspects of the flight training curriculum then head out for some practice and consolidation work.

Why Fly At A Low Level

"A low level is generally considered to be 500ft above ground level or lower. Low level flying may be necessary: in poor weather conditions such as low cloud and/or poor visibility; to inspect a field in preparation for a forced landing with power available; in the VFR Entry/Exit Lanes that provide access to certain aerodromes beneath airspace reserved for Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations."

From Trevor Thom's The Air Pilot's Manual 1 First up would be low level flying, gaining an appreciation of navigating and looking for landmarks at low level - at around 500ft. I would also gain a much better appreciation of speed at low level and learn to handle the aircraft appropriately.

For this leg, a quick navigation calculation for a 4 minute trip from Harrogate due north to Ripon. Factoring in a slight south westerly wind. Not for the first time I marked the wind vector on my chart wrong. This time it was 90° out. I noticed this when doing a mental calculation of the tail wind and how this would increase my ground speed. It was bizarre to think that I could have made such a fundamental error, but that is what double checking and sanity checking can quickly show up.

A suitable landmark was shown on the map - height 261ft - to give an indication of ground level, round this up to 300ft and add 500ft clearance then we would aim to be flying at 800ft.

The navigation check gave me another opportunity to master the whiz wheel using the 'simple' method that I was shown by my instructor. In this case we would head from Harrogate to Ripon, a 0 (or 360) degree heading with a wind vector (W/V) of 210/15. So use the following procedure:

• Align the centre dot to our expected air speed (100kts)
• Turn the wheel so the wind vector heading is at the top (210)
• Mark the wind vector BELOW the centre dot as the wind is FROM 210
• Turn the wheel to our heading (0)
• The wind mark is now 4 degrees right
• Turn the wheel to the right by 4 degrees (align the 0 with 4 on drift)
• The mark is still at 4 so we are OK (repeat with smaller adjustments if this isn't the case)
• Read off the speed (113kts) and use for G/S in calculations
• Add (west is best) the magnetic variation to get the heading
• Sanity check, if the wind is from behind the G/S will be greater and vice versa.

Then onto the ground school for precautionary landings - just in case the weather comes in or the aircraft starts to behave badly, yet you still have power to fly with.

Firstly, identify a suitable field then descend dead side as per a normal circuit to around 500ft. Commence the circuit but in a tighter than normal manner. Approach the target field and overfly at 200ft to get a better view of the surface and surroundings. If the field is OK then complete a final circuit and approach to land.

Before we set out to the aircraft we did a review of practiced forced landings using the high key and low key method. At 3000ft the power will be reduced to idle and carb heat switched on.

Begin to orientate with regards to the wind - which is marked on your chart and look for a suitable field. Trim to glide speed of 70kts for the PA28. At 2500ft - high key - be 1nm from the upwind end of the target field. Attempt restart, change fuel tanks.

At 2000ft make the turn to downwind leg. Make the mayday call - call sign, station, engine failure, location, intention. Do the mayday call while you still have decent height so as to have maximum radio range.

During the practice forced landing give a touch of power to keep the engine warm. Also be very aware that although this is a practice you must be prepared to land just in case the engine does really fail.

At 1500ft - low key - you will be halfway along the downwind leg. Prepare to land and complete your pre-landing checks. Turn to base at 1000ft, another touch of power.

Turning to final approach - into the wind - at 500ft then time to make the commitment to land. Apply flaps only when you know you can make the field. It's easy isn't it?

I booked out for a general handling flight then out to the aircraft to do the A-Check. When I got into the cockpit my instructor advised me to remove my hi-viz jacket - a useful tip as they are made out of a synthetic material that wouldn't behave so nicely in the event of a fire.

Onto Leeds tower and clearance to depart and then take off was promptly granted. I stated the squawk wrong and was corrected. It was set and put on standby. As we lined up on the runway I switch the squawk to Mode C and made a note of the time.

After take off we headed north towards Harrogate at 2000ft. As we approached Harrogate I began to descend to low level.

For some reason I only went as low as 1800ft and still thought it was low, then my instructor pointed out my error. The second time in almost as many lessons. I must learn to pay more attention to the altimeter.

I corrected our altitude and we dropped to 800ft. One of the most surprising aspects was the birds flying around us, and the speed of passing landmarks, it was difficult at times to keep up with the changing roads, rivers and railways for only this 4 minute stretch. But very useful experience should I ever be pushed to a low altitude due to adverse weather.

We climbed over Ripon then headed out to find a suitable field for precautionary landing practice. Looking for somewhere away from habitations and livestock in order to minimise disruption. A field was found and the instructor showed how it should be done, then my turn. I made two attempts, but in both cases flew a bit wide on circuit which meant it was more difficult to keep the field in sight at all times. More practice would be needed, but I was getting the hang of this.

We followed this with three practiced forced landings. The challenge at this time is to get the judgement correct, but this will come with practice. On one approach we noticed only on final that there was a low level power line across the field, the option would be to fly under! I'd also made a strong mental note to always be scanning for power lines in future flights.

En route back to the airfield I requested a couple of steep level turns to consolidate my earlier knowledge. They weren't perfect by any means, climbing and descending too much for my liking but again these should come back with practice.

Am I Fit To Fly?

"Flying with a common cold or other upper respiratory tract infection is asking for trouble. The blocked Eustachian tubes which usually accompany such a complaint will lead to problems with pressure equalisation, especially on descent (when ambient pressure changes can be high even in low-performance aircraft).

Pain in the ears could be severe, which is very distracting.

There is a danger of the eardrums collapsing inwards as the external pressure builds up, giving rise to a loss of hearing which may or may not be permanent.

The balance mechanisms could be affected in extreme cases, a situation known as pressure vertigo."

From Trevor Thom's The Air Pilot's Manual 1 As we passed through 1000ft on base leg about to turn for a long final on R27 my ears suddenly blocked. I'd had slight hay fever in the previous week but nothing of major concern - no tablets or medication taken. My blocked ears made me quite deaf and I lost orientation and became overwhelmingly nauseous.

I had to hand control to the instructor for landing - I simply couldn't function as a pilot. I couldn't hear the ATC over the radio, I couldn't focus on the instruments, I couldn't think of what to do next.

When we had shut down the aircraft and exited I could hear virtually nothing - I've never had deafness or ear blockage like it and it took some 15 to 20 minutes before my ears popped back at the flight school.

Following the exercise debrief and a stern word from my instructor about the dangers of flying with a cold - however slight - we closed the day with a short ground school lesson covering quick headwind and crosswind calculations for en-route changes in the air.

Firstly calculate the maximum drift angle as (60 / Airspeed) x W/V speed. A quick calculation in the air is to use 90kts as the airspeed so simply multiply the wind vector by 2/3rds.

Then use the clock method to calculate the crosswind component whereby 15, 30, 45 and 60 degrees around a clock face map to ¼, ½, ¾ and full crosswind component. Head wind components are the opposite viz: 15, 30, 45 and 60 degrees of each map to ¾, ½, ¼ and zero components.

An example: You are flying 090 (west to east) and need to divert due north. The wind is 220/20. The angle of difference is 360-220 = 140 degrees, we are looking for the smallest angle on the interception so in this case would be 40 degrees.

40 degrees would almost map to ¾ in the crosswind clock so we will multiply the maximum drift angle by ¾. MD = 60/90 x 20, i.e. approximately 13 degrees. Multiplied by ¾ gives approximately 10 degrees so we need to fly 10 degrees into the wind so a heading of 350 degrees. This is the true heading so we then need to add / remove the variance to get the magnetic heading.

We also covered the closing angle of 18 degrees in a P28. This means that for a distance off course of 'n' miles then turn towards course by 18 degrees and travel for distance x 2 in minutes.

Then you will re-intercept your track and can turn again by 18 degrees. We followed this with instruction on tracking around obstructions e.g. NOTAM'd areas, MATZs, thunderstorms: turn 'n' degrees (30, 45, 60 etc.) from your heading and time the duration to give you a clear view around the obstruction - e.g. 2 mins.

Then turn back to original track and once clear of the obstruction turn the 'n' degrees in the opposite sense and fly for the same duration - i.e. 2 mins in this case. This will bring you back to a point on your original route and then you can turn back on this heading.