Feeling Like A Real Aviator

Flying Hours Today 4:05, Total 44:10

P1 Flying Hours Today 3:10, Total 7:30

Back on the 28th August I did my dual QXC. The following weekend the weather was poor both days, following that I had other weekend commitments plus a change of flying school so it was with some trepidation that I reported at Sheffield Flying School at 0900 to undertake my Qualifying Cross Country test.

The NOTAMS, METARS, TAFS and F214/215 had all been checked, it was to be a great day for flying. I phoned my two destinations at Sywell and Tatenhill to confirm they were operational and to explain I was on a QXC and gave some indication of my estimated arrival time.

First up was the short trip from Sheffield (EGSY) to Sandtoft (EGCF). Student PPLs are not allowed to solo from Sheffield so I flew with my new instructor the 20nm to Sandtoft. I also had done my Dual QXC from Sandtoft so it had to be my starting point once more to ensure continuity.

Approaching Sandtoft I made a good join but fluffed the base leg and so I was a little high on final. The instructor lined us up and I brought the aircraft into land in a slight crosswind. It was good to get the gremlin out of the system early.

In to the control room to pay the fees then I left the instructor and headed back out for my QXC. First leg to Sywell (EGBK), using Bottesford as the VRP. Total distance 75nm, estimated 35 mins. I took off and immediately saw something unusual in my 1 o'clock. A big bird? microlight? parascender - here? on flat land?

Ah, no, it was a balloon, but tall and thin rather than short and round. I made it out just as Sandtoft radio gave me a call to look out for it. There followed a few minutes of other traffic calling in to report the balloon.

Leaving the Sandtoft zone I turned to the correct heading then switched to Waddington radar for FIS. It is then plain sailing - or flying - to head due south.

Perfect visibility at 3500ft, keeping the river Trent and the power stations to my left, passing Swinderby and seeing the collection of old Cold War machinery including a Vulcan.

Waddington were providing a great service to everyone and I only had to make position reporting calls. The radio mast at Melton Mowbray came in to view and I used as a visual marker to track south. By now I had Sywell on the second radio and was listening in for airfield information and to get a feel for the traffic.

Cottesmore, Rutland Water, and Corby all came into view just as planned by the stopwatch and finally Waddington gave me a call to leave the frequency and I made the switch to Sywell Information, squawking 7000.

I'm never very good at spotting airfields from the air. My instructors always seem to be able to do this from miles away. But I must be getting a better feel for things - looking for large buildings - hangars, open spaces, and slithers of road - runways. I spotted Sywell from perhaps 10nm out.

R03L was the active. Standard overhead join, listening for the other traffic - lots of helicopters and others using R33. Descend dead side, turning and lined up perfectly for R03. Touch down on grass, keep the nose up to relieve the pressure then a call to taxi to parking - simply cut across the field, no yellow lines here.

I went to pay my landing fees and got the first stamp and 'GOOD' ratings on my certificate.

A short break for a cup of tea as my parents and brother had come to watch my arrival. Then it was time to power up once more after a quick check around the aircraft and fuel / oil levels.

Taxi to hold of R03 and power checks. Flaps set to two stages for shortish grass take off. Although the runway is 909m long I had previously taken off with flaps so elected to do so today. Rotation occurs much earlier, but keep the aircraft just slightly off the ground until enough good speed is made to climb.

Once positively climbing retract flaps. I climbed in the circuit in the zone to 2000ft and then headed towards Bitteswell VRP as my next en-route point to Tatenhill (EGBM). Changing between QFE / QNH and making message calls was fun in this aircraft.

The altimeter pressure scale is in inches of mercury. There is a small card to the left of the panel with conversions between millibars and inches of mercury. Just in case you don't already have enough to do there is the additional challenge of reading and converting units.

I left Sywell and made my only VFR navigation error. I tracked well over Pitsford Water, then between two lakes near Naseby. I was looking for Bitteswell 10nm away. A disused airfield but actually now a major commercial / industrical area full of anonymous white warehouses and factories.

I could see this ahead, and also to my right was another very visible clutch of white factory buildings. But I knew I was on track, following the heading and the timing because I could see the M6 split from the M1. At this time I switched to East Midlands and passed my message: 5nm south east of Bitteswell.

I then noticed up ahead a large expanse of water. This hadn't been on my dual QXC. I then noticed aerials to my right. These must be the aerials near Rugby.

Another look on the chart and the water feature must be Draycott VRP, which means that the M6 is actually the M45. Ooops. Time to turn north, follow the M1 on my left and then turn to intercept the 'other' white buildings which did turn out to be Bitteswell.

As I was overhead Bitteswell and back on track the East Midlands controller asked me to confirm position. I replied with 'overhead Bitteswell VRP'. He must have thought I was flying a very, very, slow aircraft.

A minute or two later I was dropped from East Midlands with instructions to call Tatenhill. I could hear that the traffic was busy so I guess the controller wanted me out of the way knowing that I wasn't going into his airspace.

I tuned to Tatenhill and switched both listen and talk to that frequency, keeping a listening brief on the East Midlands frequency. The remainder of the track to Tatenhill was without incident. From Bitteswell it was possible to see the powerstation 5nm SE of the airfield. So long as I aimed for the left of that I would be OK.

I made visual contact about 5nm from the airfield. Then I heard of another aircraft inbound from the North East at about the same distance, and another in the circuit below, and another taking off. It would be time to keep focussed and aware.

A good overhead join for R26L, a fairly stern crosswind - 330/10 if I recall - and touchdown with a slight bounce which was a relief but a bit disappointing. But no time to think about things as I had to expedite vacation of the runway to allow the other aircraft behind me to land.

I parked up, went to pay my dues and get the second stamp of the day. This time it was 'SATISFACTORY'. The chap doing the authorisation pointed out that there are really only satisfactory or unsatisfactory landings and we all have room for improvement. Fair enough, I was just glad to get the second stamp and to head back to Sandtoft. However. It was mandated that I visit the cafe for a cup of tea. I wasn't thirsty but it was pointed out that QXC is a long hard test and I should take time out to relax - which is a very good point and I would recommend it to all.

During my QXC I hadn't planned anything specific to say in the response to the ATC 'Pass Your Message' request but found myself saying: "G-XXXX, PA28, 1 P.O.B., Student PPL on Qualifying Cross Country, etc..".

When I arrived at Tatenhill I met the controller in the cafe having a break. She said that she had made a note of the fact that I was on QXC and so paid more attention than normal to ensure that I would be monitored and also to listen in to my R/T skills.

On reflection I did find that all the controllers I spoke to had been more 'gentle' than usual. Note that the Waddington controller had left me alone and that East Midlands had dispatched me early to Tatenhill, and had also left me to my own devices en-route to Sandtoft.

This might be wishful thinking on my part - and someone will no doubt come along in a minute to confirm this, but perhaps stating the fact that I was QXCing did make a difference to the controllers. It it something certainly worth bearing in mind for those preparing for their QXC.

It turned out that my recovery break at Tatenhill was much longer than expected. I phoned back to the flying school to confirm my ETA at Sandtoft only to be told that my instructor was out with another student and so I would have to wait about an hour on arrival at Sandtoft. So I had an hour to kill. I decided to do a full check of the aircraft and write up some of the paperwork for the flight - logs and times etc.

I also thought it would be a good excuse to fill up with fuel so I taxied towards the pumps and met my first aviation fuel queue. A Cessna had been filled but left at the pumps. We had to push it clear. But there still wasn't room. A Yak-52 had been brought out to be filled too so I couldn't get behind the other PA-28 that was now free to get to the pumps.

This queue maneovering gave me the chance to have a good look around the Yak. And the owner let me have a sit inside. But it was all Russian to me and I couldn't understand much. The ticking of the clock was strikingly loud. Good solid engineering there.

The PA28 at the head of the queue filled up. Then the Yak. The Yak then started up and went through power checks and away followed by the PA28 and finally I got in to fill up.

It was soon time to depart and I took off, cleared the zone and departed north eastwards to Sandtoft. Back with East Midlands control and had FIS on an uneventful track back towards Sandtoft.

The only call I received was to watch for traffic as I neared the M1. Then I was handed to Doncaster.

A simple switch over and a warning of intense traffic near Netherthorpe. I managed to fly just south of Netherthorpe and got a great view of the absolutely tiny grass runways - a couple of the shortest in the UK. I'd love to try my short field landing and take-off skills there some day.

Onwards and overhead the Doncaster ATZ to the south of the runway. I arrived at Sandtoft bang on time, but knew I had 30 minutes or so before my instructor would arrive so I called Doncaster and told them I was to head over the Humber to Beverley for further navigation practice.

A short trip out to Beverley then turned back to Sandtoft. With the sun directly in my eyes. It was hard to make out anything so I followed the estuary and the Trent. I left the Doncaster frequency at Brough and switched to Sandtoft.

Still blinded by the light I headed to the west of Sandtoft to reduce the glare then switched back to arrive overhead for dead side descend for R23. When I had departed earlier the wind had been almost 90 degrees to the runway, and inbound traffic were given the option of R23 or R05. But now the wind was variable and less than 5 kts.

It should have been a simple landing but I was still slightly too fast on touch down, around 70-75kts. The extra 15kts made a difference along the runway and I made it all the way to the end at Delta to turn around. It was then a trackback and park up. Mission accomplished. The QXC in the bag.

I had some time to wait for the instructor so I completed the paperwork and had a couple of coffees by way of celebration. I then went back outside to watch the three Jet Provosts at Sandtoft today each prepping ready for pleasure flights.

At 1700 my instructor arrived. I was starting to feel the effects of the day by now but made the effort for the final trip back to Sheffield. Once back in the air my vitality returned and it was simply a case of calling Doncaster and heading 240. We were past Doncaster airfield and the town in minutes.

The M18 on the right was a good guidance route to follow, then the VRP of the M1/M18 intersection came into view. By now the sun was directly in front of us but hazy through the oncoming cloud. The instructor made a call for the runway lights and it was amazing when they lit up - it made an amazing difference to visibility.

Another aircraft was on short final so we made some lazy S turns to waste some time. Then it was 3rd stage of flap, aim for the numbers and in. We also managed to stop before the exit point so no need to backtrack. Park up and close down. Total flying time today: 4 hrs 5 mins, and I was pretty exhausted by the time I got home at 1900hrs.

Flying From France To Sheffield

Flying Hours Today 1:35, Total 40:05

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

On the Sunday morning we awoke to overcast skies. There was no rush to get going as we would want to wait for some of this weather to break up. After breakfast we went for a walk around Cherbourg harbour before our pre-arranged taxi came at 1030 to take us to the airport.

We arrived at the airport to find it closed. Or rather, locked. There was obviously some activity as we had seen a light aircraft depart, and we could see the fireman's truck ready for use. But access to the tower and to the general airport was definitely closed.

At the far end of the airport was a flying club, we headed there and thankfully found two very friendly French pilots who allowed us access to the apron and gave us a phone to call the tower. The controller duly obliged to our request to get airside and shortly we were reunited with our aircraft.

Flight plans were filed and the kindly fireman brought all our luggage to the aircraft before returning to refuel the DA40s with Jet A1 while we had to make do with self service for the PA28 - filling to tabs to keep the weight down.

It was by now 1150 local time and the fireman went off duty from 1200 to 1400 so it was fortunate that we got everything done in time. To his credit the fireman stayed around and completed the refuelling of a couple of Cessnas from Exeter that had also decided to fly to Cherbourg for the weekend.

There had been a change of plan. We would be flying back via Kemble (EGBP - now renamed to Cotswold Airport) as it was more a more appropriate inbound airfield and Special Branch, if they so wished, would find it easier to intercept us there.

At 1223 local time we started up and made for R28. Wind was 270/10 gusting to 16, QNH 1012, QFE 996 millibars. We backtracked a short distance on R28 then turned and took off. Waggling the wings to say au revoir to those still on the ground.

A right turn out was approved and we were climbing for FL040 our cruising altitude. The flight was uneventful as we switched to Deauville and then to London Information at the FIR boundary.

We made a call to check if Danger Area DA036 was active as we were looking to fly across it. Unfortunately it was so we had to maintain the heading north to the Isle of Wight.

Southampton DME came on-line some 45nm out. We were indicating 104kts ground speed, 90kts IAS. This showed we had a great tailwind to fly us back north today. We tuned to the NDB at Bournemouth 339. By 1206 UK time the Isle of Wight was in sight.

We left London Information for Solent Radar. Descending to 2000ft and flying over the Isle of Wight just to the east of the Needles. From here we routed north to Salisbury at 2000ft.

One of the other DA40s come on the radio - they were flying quite close to us as we headed over Stoney Cross VRP with Salisbury Cathedral in sight.

We were below the clouds which had a base of around 2300ft when I saw another aircraft, G-BHSE, fly right to left in front of us, perhaps a few hundred feet ahead of us and only 100ft or so above. It was easily close enough to see the registration details very clearly.

We had heard nothing on the FIS from Solent about this. It really made me think about always maintaining a good look out and not flying too close to the cloud base. There had been 4 of us on board and non of us saw this aircraft approaching. It may have come out of the clouds, or been flying below them and not showing up well due to contrast.

It was now time to call Boscombe, but there was no reply so we called Lynham on 123.4. Danger area D123 was active up to 3000ft and D125 was active higher. We didn't want to climb due to the worsening weather and the low cloud base so we had to route around Warminster.

We heard that the DA40 was climbing to fly directly over the danger zone for Kemble. Making use of Southampton DME to confirm position we were looking for 35nm range to get us to Warminster. We followed the road from Salisbury along the edge of Salisbury plain and the associated firing ranges.

Up ahead big dark clouds were forming and they looked very ominous. We also had to remain clear of gliders at Keevil. It was a tense race to get to Warminster as the clouds approached ahead of us. We came to within a few miles of the clouds and the pouring rain before turning at Warminster and heading north towards Kemble.

We transited Lynham and kept a good lookout for a Hercules transporter as it took off abeam of us, climbed and then turned and entered the clouds above us as we passed Chippenham.

Kemble was soon on the radio and were were given R26 with a left hand circuit - paying special attention not to overfly the surrounding villages which would make for an interesting short cut from base to final.

As we made visual contact with the field we saw the DA40 on finals and then landing. Their flight over the top of the danger area had saved them time and they beat us to the rendezvous by a couple of minutes as we touched down at 1315.

Following Sunday lunch at the excellent AV8 Bistro & Restaurant at Kemble it was my turn to fly the return leg to Sheffield. We had refuelled and were ready to go. Taxi to A1 for R28 where I completed the power checks, lined up then took off at 1445 with a climbing right hand turn to 2500ft as we headed north east.

Soon I switched from Kemble to Brize as we set our course. I had never used an altimeter pressure setting calibrated in inches, so had to make intense use of a look up table stuck on the dash to convert between millibars and inHg.

The return trip was a great opportunity to do some basic radio navigation. We tuned to the Daventry VOR and adjusted the heading until the bar was centred. This gave a heading reading of 055. Set the heading bug on the HSI to 055 and there we have our heading to fly to get us to Daventry.

Leaving Brize I switched to Coventry Approach, or so I thought, I was given another frequency and made the switch to the right Coventry Approach. It was now time to fly north and intercept the Daventry 360 radial.

This is the opposite to doing the track. We set the radial to 360 and the bar indicates which direction to head in. As we knew we would be intercepting the 360 radial eventually we headed 030 until the bar began to creep to the centre and then it was simply a case of turning north and maintaining the bar centred.

Next I tuned the DME to EME at East Midlands as we had done on the out bound leg yesterday. We requested a zone transit and kept heading north. Other traffic were informed of an air display that would last for 7 minutes or so and so they had to hold, this didn't affect us as we would be approaching after the display. However one of the DA40s couldn't wait and so descended below 1500ft and cut under the zone and ahead of us.

As we approached Nottingham we were given permission and we crossed the zone and continued north to Sheffield. For some reason whenever I was passing messages to ATC I was forgetting where we had come from. I had Cherbourg or Popham in my head and had to request from the others on-board a reminder of where we had departed - Kemble of course.

Passing East Midlands overhead the EME beacon we switched to the Sheffield DME and I was shown how to intercept, say, a 330 approach that might be necessary to navigate around terrain.

Ten miles out I called Sheffield with my inbound message. Over the M1/M18 VRP it was time to turn in for a direct approach on R28 from 2000ft. Two stages of flaps, then call for final at 2nm and 3rd stage. Carb heat on for the whole approach. A pretty good landing considering it was my first time at Sheffield and that I'd never flown a fully loaded PA28 before.

I was also very aware that my landing skills would be judged by the three other pilots on board. A short back track and taxi before parking up after a 1hr 35min flight that literally flew by.

This weekend was extremely useful and I would recommend something like this to other PPLs and students. I sat in the aircraft for 6hrs 30mins and spent the time watching and learning but also taking time out to enjoy the trip. The great thing was that I only had to pay for the 1hr 35mins that I actually flew as pilot in command.

An Unexpected Flight To France

Flying Hours Today 0:00, Total 38:30

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

As Leeds Flying School was winding down its weekend private pilot training programme I was soon the last remaining PPL student. It was time to look elsewhere to complete my flight training. Sheffield City Flying School is a similar distance from home so I gave them a call.

Unfortunately there were no flying lesson slots available this weekend due to the school flying out to Cherbourg in France. I replaced the phone and wondered just when and where I would be able to continue my flying. Then I thought, why not ask if I can join the venture to France?

I called the flight school back and before I knew it I was giving passport details over the phone and I was ready to fly to France at the weekend. Fantastic, this is what General Aviation flying is all about.

This diary entry is slightly different to the others, it is more a direct log of what happened en-route as I was a passenger for our outbound and part of the inbound journey legs. This gave me a great opportunity to watch and learn as the other pilots took turns to fly the aircraft.

We started early at the flight school on the Saturday morning at Sheffield City Airport (EGSY - now closed). Completing the plans and pre-flight checks as I was introduced to the other 3 pilots that I would share the journey with.

We were to fly in G-BFYM, a PA28. Engine start at 0935 with a plan to refuel at Bembridge Airport (EGHJ) on the Isle of Wight.

The weather was calm on R28 for left hand climb out and straight away things were different to what I've been accustomed to. We had to turn as we climbed and follow a military style circuit due to Sheffield vaguaries. Airborne at 0940. Tune in to the Daventry VOR to track the 180 radial due south, additionally tune the DME and ADF to East Midlands DME coded as EME.

We left Sheffield Radio and changed to East Midlands (EGNX) to request zone transit and Flight Information Service.

This was my first proper introduction to using the radio navigation instruments for a planned flight route. In G-BFYM the ADF is the fat yellow arrow on the nav instrument, the VOR is the light green needle representing VOR2. So the top instrument is showing the ADF direction with the VOR needle tuned to Daventry. In this particular aircraft VOR1 was unserviceable for this trip.

The VOR is tuned in using the NAV radios, DME is tuned using the DME avionics which also provide further information such as distance, ground speed, time to run.

We were overhead EME at 1010, abeam with the East Midlands runway as the EME beacon is aligned with the centre line. Being aware of such an alignment is good thing to use to fix where you are when temporarily unsure of position.

Continuing south and twelve minutes later we were passing Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome. A lone 747 sat on the airfield which is also the home of the Vulcan To The Sky project.

Shortly afterwards we were passing the Bitteswell disused aerodrome VRP. I paid special attention as I would be using this as a routing point for my upcoming qualifying cross country. I noted that one of the warehouse / factories had a blue trim around the tops of the walls.

Soon it was time for our first change of flight plan. In order to avoid the aerials and restricted flying area around Coughton we decided to head on to the Compton VOR on 114.35 with some 15nm to route to Bicester.

At Daventry we tuned the NDB to 426 to route us towards the Isle of Wight. Silverstone racing circuit passed by on the left, we could hear one of the DA40s (G-CCFU) behind us, some 40 miles from Daventry.

Overhead Turweston it was time to switch from Coventry (EGBE) ATC to the military controllers at RAF Brize Norton (EGVN). We were given our squawk and told to advise when at Compton, and to avoid RAF Weston-on-the-Green where there was significant gliding activity.

We wanted to avoid the MATZ so changed course 60 degrees right and headed over Oxford and tracked towards the very visible power station at Didcot, intercepting the Compton radial on 180.

It was now 1050 and we were ready to route to Southampton (EGHI). We left the Brize controllers and switched to Farnborough who provided us with a Flight Information Service as we maintained our heading on the 180 FROM radial out of Compton.

Greenham Common passed on our right, Aldermaston AWE to the left at 1107.

Basingstoke was our next visual reference point and here the DA40 overtook us, or so we though. We switched to Solent ATC - which covers the Southampton area - and were visual with the Isle of Wight by the time we were flying overhead New Alresford.

We were on the 168 radial at 40 miles and ready to turn south on the 180 radial, and then visually follow the main dual carriageway between Petersfield and Portsmouth. Preparing for Bembridge by aiming towards the centre of the Isle of Wight. We heard that the DA40 had been held in orbits north of the Solent zone. We were home and dry as winners of the first leg.

Tuning to Bembridge we were expecting R30 right hand circuits. As we switched to Bembridge frequency over the Solent we were given R12 left hand circuits so we started our descent onto the base leg over the Solent, turned final and touched down at 1140.

After tea and coffee at the airfield, a long lunch at the Propellor Inn - two hours for a sandwich order to be completed - and a flight plan filed, we set off for Cherbourg with a new pilot at the controls.

Rolling on R12 at 1415 with one stage of flap, rotating at 60kts, and a right hand turn out once we were clear of any gliders. Flaps up, and climbing, heading for St. Catherine's Point, the southern most tip of the Isle of Wight.

Leaving Bembridge radio we called London Information and passed our message - climbing through 2500ft to FL050. We were climbing to what would become FL052, and so set the altimeter to 29.91 inHg (1013mb) - this particular aircraft had the altimeter set using inches of mercury. The outside air was still above freezing at our cruising altitude. We leaned off, only slightly, and headed along the VFR route but above the clouds.

Using the DME from Southampton to estimate when we would be at the FIR boundary between UK and France. We estimated that the boundary would be 57nm from Southampton. Through the gaps in the clouds we were looking for the shipping lane full of cargo vessels, this would also provide an indication of the FIR boundary.

Although we had the DME it was good airmanship to calculate the estimated time of arrival at the boundary based on our location, heading and speed. This was a good thing to consider as shortly we began to lose the signal from Southampton and we were dead reckoning. At our estimated boundary arrival time we left London Information and switched to Deauville (LFRG) control who promptly asked us to change frequency to Cherbourg (LFRC). At the same time we tuned the ADF for Cherbourg on 373.

The cloud had cleared and we began our descent. Identifying lighthouses along the coast as reference markers. We still had the VOR tuned to Southampton and used the 185 radial for navigational assistance. Cherbourg gave us R28 right hand, QFE 1016 and to report airfield in sight.

We began a cruise descent and changed tanks. At 2000ft we reported visual and returned the mixture to rich. There was some French chatter on the radio interspersed with the occasional English. An uneventful approach and touch down at 1510 UK time. Asked for taxi instructions we were told to continue down R28 for another 1000m or so. The French do like their long runways.

We found the taxiway, turned off the runway and travelled at at walking pace until we reached the GA apron and parked up. One of the DA40s arrived a couple of minutes later.

We unloaded and locked up then headed for the arrivals gate. There were no customs, no Gendarmes, no officialdom whatsoever. So we made for the cafe-cum-wine shop and celebrated with coffee and beers while waiting for everyone else to arrive.

This was a good time to fill in the UK CAA GAR forms (General Aviation Regulations) in preparedness for tomorrow's return. What was needed was passport number, name, address, inside leg measurement etc.

Our intention was to fly into Popham (EGHP) but this may be reconsidered later. The cafe owner booked us a hotel in Cherbourg - one with 10 rooms available for all of us to stay together - and a couple of taxis turned up to take us there. We had an enjoyable evening in Cherbourg, finding bars that had no wine and drinking Irish beer.