Orbiting And Gliding At Doncaster

Flying Hours Today 1:15, Total 45:25

P1 Flying Hours Today 0:00, Total 7:30

Today I spent 1hr 20m going through some of my 'fears'. Those parts of the skills test that you don't practice everyday: flap-less and glide approaches (went well), steep level turns (went well) and PFL (went very well). I was with a new instructor today. My eigth.

Some people like the continuity of a single instructor and I must confess that I did up to a point but now I'm finding that I'm learning a lot more from each instructor.

They all have useful hints and tips to pass on and in some cases they allow me to change a procedure that I wasn't comfortable with but it is what I was taught.

During the power checks I noted that when idling the engine wouldn't go much lower than 1000rpm. Nothing to worry about but I'm always keen to understand why things happen and noticing this small deviation did come back to me at a later stage in the day...

We left Sheffield (EGSY) and headed to Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield (EGCN - formerly RAF Finningley) for circuits. It was a quiet day and Doncaster ATC are quite welcoming for instructed circuits but not solo students.

We headed 060 from Sheffield and made our first landing on R20 from right base. A good touch and go to get things started, then we followed this with flap-less and fully flapped approach and landings. Something I've vastly improved on since last time I did these, this must be down to my greatly improved experience of handling the aircraft.

At one point I was put into an orbit pattern waiting for a Boeing 737 to take off. And we waited, and waited. There were birds on the runway that needed to be cleared.

Typically by the time the ground team were on the scene the birds had moved on. This wasn't more wasted time, it was a good opportunity to practice precision flying using rate 1 turns and maintaining my position over the ground with the blowing wind.

After the departing jet I was given clearance to land while still on base, I then repeated that I was on finals etc. which may not have been necessary but I'd prefer to talk too much than not enough if the airwaves are quiet.

Landing at airports such at Doncaster are great for honing skills as you can focus on the technique without worrying about the length of the runway. Following a glide approach I had to stop on the runway and await the wash of the departing jet to dissipate, then I could still use the remainder of the runway to take off.

While still in the Doncaster zone I practiced a couple of glide approaches, losing power on the base leg. Trimming to 70kts, aiming for a landing point 2/3rd of the way down the runway, then 1/3rd etc as we got nearer.

This will help to ensure that the glide to the target is possible. If you aim too near then you could fall short - quite literally, so aim further away and then lose the height once you are nearing the target.

Leaving Doncaster we headed back towards Sheffield and found some space for practice exercises. The last time I did a PFL was many months ago and I couldn't get to grips with the glide attitude, and the calls and checks, and the aiming for a field, and the altitude and position etc.

This time it all came together really well. A rule of thumb from the gliding world, use the 45 degree rule. If the target is beyond the wing then it is out of reach, similarly if it is below you it is too near. Select a target that is about 45 degrees of your viewing angle downwards.

Then it is time for engine off, or at least power off, 70kts glide, keep the field in sight, glide and descend gently, simulated calls, 7700 on the transponder and checks made, down to 500ft then power away.

I was really pleased to get this out of the way and it gave me great confidence in knowing how to get the aircraft into a glide attitude and to control it. Coincidentally when we climbed away we noticed how close we were to Netherthorpe, in a real emergency we could have aimed for the landing field there.

Steep level turns were also something I hadn't done for a while and remember them being all over the place with attitude and altitude not quite in synch. This time they were much much better which I can only put down to being much more experienced and familiar with the controls and actions.

Inbound to Sheffield I made some lazy S turns to lose some height and speed, just for good practice. As we crossed the threshold I noticed that the speed wasn't decreasing as expected and the flare and round out took longer than normal. After touch down the engine sounded as though it was running too fast, a check showed that it was at 1000rpm, so that check at the start of the day had come to something - if the idle is a bit high then expect a slightly faster landing.

A couple more hours of solo time to build then I reckon I'll be ready to apply for the general flying test. Fingers crossed.

Feel The (G) Force!

Flying Hours Today 1:10, Total 11:25

Today's weather provided great conditions for flying, which really makes a difference to just how easy it is to learn new skills in the air. The Great British weather has a lot to answer for, but it doesn't half help to focus your flying skills when it is less than perfect - which is most of the time.

We had planned to practice approaches leading up to actually landing. Unfortunately, as I've found so far in my flying career, things don't always go to plan and so we have to be flexible and change things at the last minute. Today it wasn't the weather but the airstrips we were planning to land at that had a problem.

Steep Level Turns

"A steep turn is a turn in which the bank angle exceeds 45°. It is a high-performance manoeuvre which requires good coordination and positive control."

From Trevor Thom's The Air Pilot's Manual 1 For various reasons both Full Sutton and Sandtoft were not available for our training exerise today and so we decided to move right on to Exercise 15: Steep, Level Turns and Spiral Descents.

We ventured into the chilly briefing room with a warm cup of coffee - it was about 6C at the airfield overnight and the heating had not yet been switched on. We covered steep, level turns at a 45 degree angle of bank which is what I will be examined on. We also touched on 60 degree angle of bank which we would do during the lesson to get a feel for this.

In summary, as we pass through 30 degrees angle of bank, apply 100-200rpm of power and maintain the nose upright as the aircraft will tend to descend nose down due to the loss of lift directly opposing weight.

Pull back further on the stick as we approach 45 degrees. Do much the same in reverse to return to straight and level flight, starting the roll out perhaps 20 degrees from the target heading.

It must be noted that balance plays an important part of this exercise, and examiners will be looking to ensure that balance is maintained. Remember that as the bank to the left begins, push down to apply left rudder and vice-versa for the right. Keep the actions synchronised.

If the aircraft is losing altitude and the angle of bank is greater than 45 degrees then it is imperative that you don't pull back further to raise the nose. At these angles the elevator will not raise the nose in the normal sense as it is now operating at a more vertical than horizontal angle - instead it will direct the nose into an even tighter turning circle, thereby reducing vertical lift and so accelerating the nose down attitude.

In these circumstances, revert to a lower angle of bank, re-ajust the attitude, then revert to 45 degrees (or more) angle of bank.

In a steep descending turn, or a spiral descent, the airspeed will tend to increase due to reduction in lift countering weight and also because power is still being applied to provide thrust. There is a danger that the airspeed will pass Vno - limit of normal operating speed in smooth airflow - and tend towards Vne - the Never Exceed speed limit for the airframe. If a spiral descent increases the airspeed too much then it is time to reduce power to idle immediately, then to level the wings and then to adjust attitude to return to straight and level flight. Reapply power only when the airspeed has dropped to around the 100kt mark.

Steep, level turns are included in the syllabus as a maneouver to quickly change heading to avoid a collision with another aircraft or obstruction on the ground. It is not generally a maneouver to be used in every day flying - however it can be used during circuits when turning from downwind to base leg.

A tight turn takes less time so during a busy circuit this will give more time to allow the pilot to focus on other things in the base leg of the circuit.

So time to go and fly. I did the check out first of all, calling ATC at Leeds / Bradford to request a local book out. The information they require includes:

• Exiting the zone via Harrogate (our VRP today)
• G-BODD, PA28 (registration and type)
• 2 PoB (people on board, me and the instructor)Instructors name as captain
• Training / exercise flight (as details)

If we were to go elsewhere to actually touch  down we would have to request a landaway book out with the following information:

• Estimated time of departure
• Whether the flight is VFR or IFR
• Expected altitude / flight level
• Registration callsign and type
• Zone exit VRP
• Destination and route
• Time en-route
• Endurance
• PoB and experience of person in charge

Out to the apron to perform the pre-flight checks on G-BODD. I did all these myself today as the instructor went in search of oil for the engine. Upon his return the extremely cold and viscous oil was poured into the engine, he then went to dispose of the oil container and left me to continue the checks and start the engine!

I was left with the responsibility to do this for the first time. By the time he returned I had the prop turning and reduced to idle to allow him to board.

I'm now getting much more confident with my R/T and completed the preliminary conversations with ease. We taxied to Lima 1 via Golf in order to use R32. QNH was high today at 1033mb. Turning into the wind on the taxyway meant using the full width of the surface to turn at right angles to the yellow line.

All checks completed and a BMI jet bound for either Heathrow or Edinburgh passed us as it backtracked down R32. We were given immediate clearance to go and so made full use of this and I took off with an immediate turn right to clear the airspace then the BMI flight was given clearance as soon as we were out of the runway centre line.


The exercise was much less challenging than expected, and no where near as bad from a motion sickness point of view. I'd been told that steep turns were not the instructor's or others favourite exercise. But I managed to pick things up very quickly. Keeping the angle of bank good, maintaining altitude well. Doing a number of left and right 360 degree turns and at one point I felt a slight bump. It was us intercepting my wake from the earlier turn - which in still air proves that we had maintained our level flight.

There was a lot of other traffic today - the most I've seen in all my flights. Probably due to the relatively fine weather. It was good to be able to be practising my flying over Fountains Abbey with spectacular views and also being able to provide some of my brain power to listening into the ATC and being aware of look out and spotting the other aircraft.

Following 30 degree and 45 degree turns we moved into the spiral descent. This was also much easier to recover from than anticipated. So we moved onto 60 degree turns which create something like 2G. I've never really felt g-force for any prolonged period (i.e. more than a second or so on a fairground ride) and it wasn't the most comfortable feeling to hold the position for quite a few seconds.

We headed towards Wetherby, doing some simple navigation along the way. Using the cooling towers of Eggborough, Drax and Ferrybridge as reference points for triangulation.

En-route we passed through what could only be described as wisps of cloud, nothing like a fully fledged cloud. The turbulence was quite shocking for such a small amount of vapour. I made a mental note never ever to venture anywhere near a towering cumulonimbus! Turning right we were heading directly for the Eccup Reservoir VRP and I made the call to Leeds Approach requesting entry into the Zone.

Remembering to state what we require (entry to the zone), where we are (2 nautical miles south of Wetherby), and who we are (G-BODD). I had become lazy and was using Delta-Delta as the call sign, I must remember to continue with Golf-Delta-Delta.

Permission was granted to enter the zone not above 2000ft, with a QFE of 1009mb. We also switched to Leeds tower and requested and were granted permission to land on R27 - and I must remember to state two-seven rather than twenty seven!


As our approach was from such a distance, i.e. from Eccup we were proceeding too slowly so we pitched down to increase airspeed but then also applied power to maintain height. This combination of power and attitude adjustment made for not the most perfect long approaches but we were making good headway to the runway numbers.

Flaps were down, the pre-landing checks made, then as we crossed the threshold the instructor told me to fly down the runway, gradually losing height as we flew almost parallel to the ground. My hand on the throttle gradually dropping the power until, with a bit of a thud, we touched down. My first landing! I hadn't expected to do that today, and at a major airport like Leeds Bradford too. An excellent end to today's lesson.