First Training Flight | April 2014

By on

So after I was told that the plane was out of action for weeks it suddenly is fixed, apparently the spark plugs and gone and it wasn't the magnetos after all. Anyway, I'm not complaining! After arriving at RAF Henlow I was quickly briefed on the flight and I decided to focus on trimming as I had previously flown lessons on straight and level flight and effects of controls. The flight was only 30 minutes long but I will be flying again tomorrow. I did the pre-flight checks and we taxied down to runway 20 we used the right hand side and took off, the flight was very enjoyable as we flew across the countryside.


After about 5 minutes we had reached a steady altitude of around 1500 feet and I was handed control, I did some climbing and descending and practised my trimming. It seems the knack is to trim out the forces in the stick which are required to keep the plane level, I think you need to learn to understand the feel of the forces whilst concentrating on the horizon in front.

We arrived at the way point and our altitude had increased a bit, this was due to the high level of thermals today and as an unexperienced pilot I hadn't noticed these so had been pushed up. The other pilot took control and lowered our altitude before some tight turns at around 2G, we then set of on the return leg, this included a stall and a dynamic stall at around 4G, unfortunately I wasn't able to catch these on film.

On arrival to Henlow airspace we did a circuit in which I was following through, although by this point I was pretty worn out and not really paying enough attention. We landed and I was expected to do another circuit. This was pretty abysmal on my behalf, I floated us in on roughly the right heading and then pulled us over to the right just before the landing meaning the other pilot had to take control.

All in all the flight was very enjoyable and I can't wait to do it all again tomorrow, please feel free to browse the blog and watch the video. If you have any comments you wish to raise please leave a comment below.
Thank you
0 comments

Damm.

By on

So just as the weather is picking up here in the UK and the sky is full of planes and gliders soaring over, the plane in which I was hoping to fly in this week has broken. The Trago Mills is side by side trainer and is usually very reliable. Unfortunately the right magneto has in essence broken and so is going to have to be overhauled. This in turn requires parts from america which will take a while to arrive so my flight also will be set back a week or so.
The Trago Mills aircraft I will be flying in.


I guess I can take this set back in one of two ways.

  1. Either, sit back and get increasingly annoyed as I watch all these planes fly over head or,
  2. I could try to focus I gaining a little more knowledge from the text books so I am able to get more out of the lesson when the plane is fixed. 
I think the second is advisable. If life's a challenge then you must attempt to over come the little announces and set backs and this is the perfect opportunity for me to do this. 
0 comments

My Aims| Flying and blog

By on

Although this is definitely early days for my blog I would like to set out a few goals for which I will try to reach throughout the course of the rest of this year.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


  • 10 flying hours before September.
  • Solo a powered plane also before september (this does seem rather optimistic my I figured it might as well set my targets high)
  • Grasped a good understanding of the theory side of the licence so that I am in good stead for the written exam. 
  • 1000 views for the blog before the end of april, once again this might be a little optimistic but you never know. 
  • I also would like to have flown in a larger variety of aircraft by the end of this summer so a gain a greater understanding of the different handling qualities that each aircraft can have. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All in all this check list will certainly keep me busy for the months to come and I will be able to record if and when I reach these goals through the means of this blog. 

Thanks for reading. 
0 comments

The Books

By on

So, after you have taken the leap into the unknown and decided that learning to fly is for you unfortunately the next stage is to purchase some books. Although I was reluctant at first to read through the boring pages it really does help when it comes to your in flight knowledge. Don't think that this is solely what a pilots licence consists of because it isn't, it just is a relatively small but vital part. Also, the books act as a good introduction guide for the course to come, if you decide to take lessons. Just a quick flick through the books and you can get a taste for what's to come.
The books I have been using in order to supplement my flying. 
Having read through a chapter in the book you will be prepared to go through the corresponding lesson with much more fluency and also will have the basic concept already under your grasp. During your lesson its only the practical side of it that you need to learn whilst up in the air. There are some excellent diagrams within the books which can help you get to grip of the manoeuvres and the procedures you will use as well as where the relevant instruments are usually located.
The diagrams used within the manuals.

I am sure that the books will also prove useful when revising for the exams that will come later in the licence and I will post on this when I reach that point. 

If you would like to purchase an updated version of the manual I am using click here. There may be better guides on the market at the moment so it might be worth investigating. 
0 comments

Sea King XZ 591 Flight

By on

Last summer I was fortunate enough to fly in a search and rescue Sea King over the Northumberland  coastline in northern England. My flight seems to bear more relevance due to the fact that sea Kings are coming out of service very shortly and I will have been one of the last passengers to have flown in a SAR (search and rescue) SeaKing for fun.

After a few hours of waiting around inside the squadrons crew room for the helicopter crew to become free to be able to take passengers we were led to collect a helmet and then walked across the helipad towards where the Sea King was hovering, after a short brief from the winch man we were hooked in and winched up. The sheer force of the wind was incredible and the noise also was loud to say the least.
The SAR Sea King I was fortunate to fly in.
As I was winched up the short distance the smile on my face grew, eventually I reached the side bay and was unclipped and then ushered to a seat on the left hand side the helicopter looking directly out of the open bay door. The view was incredible and the sensation of hovering was something I wasn't expecting to be note worthy but  it was. I had flown in a light aircraft before this flight, however this is not really comparable to anything I have ever done before.
The view form the seats out of the open bay door whilst hovering.
After being plugged in to the crews radio and advised not to talk through it unless necessary (i.e don't start screaming) we set off. After a couple of minutes of getting use to the sensation of flight in a helicopter with door open I was offered to go and stand at the front of the helicopter with the pilots to observe. What initially struck me was how relaxed they were flying, for them, it seemed, this flight was just like driving car and  required very little attention as they talked on about how their week end went, this is certainly not a criticism and in all honestly I was in ore of their ability . As we flew down the coastline on a beautifully clear day I couldn't think of anything better I could be possibly be doing. It was awesome. How lucky were these pilots to be doing this as their job. Five minutes later my time at the front was up and I returned to the very rear of the helicopter and sat in a observers seat. We started are return journey back to base banking quite hard to our right before continuing on are relatively straight and level flight back.

As we landed I felt disappointed that this flight had come to an end and noted how unlikely it is that I will ever do something like that again. Unfortunately, I can't comment on the quality of the landing as it was my first ever helicopter flight but, all in all I can't fault the quality of flying I experienced. 
1 comments