Ski's Flying Blog

My skills test ended up spanning two days...yesterday was supposed to be the test proper, but in the event I ended up taking half yesterday and half today. As it happened this worked in my favour somewhat.

Yesterday's test started at a 11am slot; prior to this I flew a quick solo flight, which was very good at calming my nerves. I also completed the necessary pre-flight documentation - this included weight & balance, centre of gravity, loading, performance, the route planning, fuel usage, takeoff and landing distance. The last item I had to calculate on the stop as I'd forgotten to do it earlier! With all that in hand I pre-flighted the aircraft (which Maintenance had just washed) and headed out, making sure I called out all the checks out loud - this also helped me with my confidence.

The first part of the test was the navigation segment -in my case a flight to Hernando County, a small airport to the west of Kissimmee. It was all going very well until I looked up expecting to see the field...and realised I didn't have a clue where I was! The examiner later told me this was due to the DI drifting off the compass heading; my aircraft was rather old. Nonetheless, had I been doing regular FREDA checks I would have discovered the error. As it was, I told the examiner I was going to turn back and head back to my last known waypoint. As this was halfway back to Kissimmee he was not impressed. But then I managed to save my test pass prospects by recognising ground features (a nearby town with rails & powerlines in a specific pattern) and steering to the airfield. I was quite surprised - but not as much as my examiner!

The next part of the test was to divert to a nearby airfield, which I planned and began to execute; but halfway to the diversion field thunderstorms began popping up and we decided to head back to Kissimmee. The low cloudbase prevented any further exercises such as stalls; it was therefore decided to postpone the exercise until tommorrow. The flight back was not entirely lost however as we flew over Disney World!

Today I completed the remainder of the test; this comprised stalls, turns, forced landings, instrument flying, aircraft general knowledge, VOR cross-checking and landings. I really enjoyed the landings, and the test generally went well. So I'm now officially a pilot! Well until the CAA has finished with my paperwork. Time to celebrate - I don't think it's really settled in yet...

27 June 06 - Mock Skills Test

The weather this morning was very marginal, however it was also the best weather for three days. The local thunderstorms have pretty much thrown the schedule for passing us all out the window; some of us have to leave on Thursday & still haven't gotten all their hours....not me though! I'm now on exactly 50 hours, and consider myself pretty damn ready for my skills test. I had my "mock" test today, and it went well. The only areas on which I'm weak are some parts of the aircraft technical knowledge, i.e. battery type, engine specs etc, and procedures. These can be revised at home; so I actually consider this afternoon's thunderstorms to be kinda handy! Others would most certainly not agree with me though.

I'm also planning to start my night rating tonight...finally! It should be quite fun; the night air is very smooth. My only slight nagging worry is landing in the event of an engine failure, but the instructors tell me careful engine monitoring & management to avoid problems before they develop is the key.

24 June 06 - RT Test

The JAA RT test is not an essential part of the JAA PPL at first (as it is possible to fly non-radio in the UK) but as I'm pretty damn sure I'm going to need to talk, I decided to take the test out here. Some of my colleagues are intending to take it back in the UK, as it'll be cheaper and less to worry about here, but I thought I'd get it out of the way.

The setup was fairly simple - you're given a diagrammatic map i.e. not a CAA 1:50,000, a flightplan with frequencies etc, and a sheet of instructions. You are then sat in front of a computer with a small headset. The examiner sits in the next room & you make all the appropriate radio calls to him in order (you don't have to simulate an actual flight by timing it correctly). The calls to be made include a MATZ penetration, RIS request, Pan call, relayed Mayday call, DAAIS and the usual ATC calls.

The actual test went much better than I thought it was going; I made a few simple mistakes like requesting take-off rather than departure; which I was surprised I'd made! The mayday call & detail calls went perfectly. Overall I was surprised but glad I'd passed.

22 June 06 - Brushing Up

My flight today was slightly delayed due to a faulty aircraft - the only OFT Cessna I hadn't flown before, and as soon as I start it up, it decides to have a mag cut! Never mind; I ended up taking another aircraft. This one started fine, but the left main gear had a worrying grating sound..despite maintenance work on it. Once I was finally airborne, I carried out a fairly sloppy flight today, with a saving grace of performing two good glide approaches (simulated engine failure in the circuit or near a runway) into Kissimmee. I just need to think more & make sure I do the correct thing before I carry out a particular action. As I've got 2 days off now, I'm going to spend the time mentally going through each stage of the skills test (and revising for & taking the RT practical test) before a few practice solos & a check ride, culminating in a test on Tuesday, which should confer the status of brand-new PPL! I'm also going night-flying; which apparently is a little more risky in a single engine aircraft without a parachute...

21 June 06 - Instrument Flying

With my cross-country out of the way, it's time to complete the rest of the PPL syllabus & prepare for my skills test. So with that in mind, today I was "under the hood". This means I have to wear a device that only allows me to see my instruments, thus simulating accidental/forced flight into cloud/nil visibility, while the instructor looks out and gives you a course/height/speed to follow. This is actually easier than it sounds & I managed to hold the specified flight parameters fairly well. Hopefully I shouldn't have to do that until my IMCR or IR....

We also covered precautionary landings (i.e. landing in fields with power) and forced landings (same, but with a stopped engine). I also flew a solo flight to practise various items, such as stalls, steep turns, general trimming etc. It looks like I'll need a bit of practise before my skills test, which is booked for next Tuesday. I also have a check ride before that on Monday, and I shall be starting my Night Rating on Sunday night, after the instructor/student football (soccer) game.

20 June 06 - Solo Cross Country Qualifier Complete!

After being un-grounded and finally being visual with the light at the end of the tunnel with regard to Cabair's cash admin issues (though we're still waiting for them to confirm that they've charged us twice for the RT test), I was intending to fly yesterday, but was thwarted by thunderstorms. However today I flew to Okeechobee via Sebastian - a 157nm round trip - twice! the first trip was with my instructor, and the second was solo.

The first trip posed no problems at all, and it was good to get back into the air again after an absence of ...... 2 days! We carried out some short-field landings at Okeechobee, and also at Kissimmee on the way back in. On that landing I managed to stop the Cessna by the first taxiway, which isn't very far at all. The only slight snag was the aircraft door opening after take-off...highly annoying, my maps almost jumped out!

The second trip went even better. At Sebastian I asked a slightly surprised aircraft factory worker to sign my cross-country sheet, and I met a fellow student & instructor on the pan at Okeechobee. The leg back was uneventful...apart from the door opening again! This time I didn't have an instructor with me to take control whilst I shut it, so it was a little more interesting. Outrunning the building thunderstorms over Lake Okeechobee, I flew back and greased another shortfield landing (saves on taxiing back don't you know).

Getting damn close to 45 hours now......just basic instrument flying to go and then the big test! Maybe even a night rating too.

17 June 06 - More Than A Tad Annoyed....In Fact....Bloody Seething!

Right. *Rant mode on*. WHAT THE SODDING HELL IS GOING ON WITH THIS INCOMPETENT AND QUITE FRANKLY RIDICULOUS ADMINISTRATION NIGHTMARE THAT CALLS IT SELF CABAIR!?!?! To expand: The deal *was* we pay 3000 pounds up front (mistake to agree to that, but we know better now) and we'd get accommodation & 30 hours, with course fees etc included. The reality? So many hidden extra charges that are now coming up, inflated taxi fees from OFT (it does NOT take 70 dollars each (i.e 350) to take 4 people on a route that a commerical taxi will do for 50 dollars!) cocked up rate charges (2 aircraft types, one more expensive, we all pay the same - end result, some people get shafted, some get 16 dollars an hour free!) inflated RT test costs, and an extra medical charge that no-one knows about but we have to pay anyway! To top it all off, because some of us are "running out of money" - haven't actually run OUT oh no - just below 500 dollars. But we can't fly. Why? Policy is that anyone below 500 is grounded until they put more money in. Even though THEY cocked up OUR account AND the fact when we leave we're not going to leave 500 dollars in the F@#&king account ANYWAY! So 3 students are now grounded for 2 days until the accountant deigns to come in! No-one else can or will sort it out!

To top it all off, I cannot fly today because my instructor failed to sign the correct endorsement. So I'm grounded until he comes in - in 3 hours - even though everything else is good - just the sodding paperwork!

*rant over!*

Well I wrote the above venting of spleen this morning; fortunately the events of the last 6 hours have mollified me somewhat, due to 2 good solo flights. However the problems with Cabair's handling of our admin and finances still remain, and have not been resolved yet. However the Cabair rep has told me that my account was miscalulated and that I'm due some cash - however whether or not they'll actually sort it out properly, in time, plus the rest of the problems remains to be seen.

My solo flights took my mind completely off the account problems though. The first, which was supposed to be a cross-country to Sebastian, this time solo (I flew the route dual yesterday) was postponed to 11 o'clock, and instead (as the relevant paperwork for a solo crosscountry hadn't been sorted in time) I flew out to the practise area. Once there, I positioned myself over Winterhaven and proceeded to climb to 9,100ft (just for kicks & giggles really). I decided not to climb any further as above 10,000ft you need oxygen! The climb itself was easy to fly; and despite patches of cloud, the view of the ground & sky was pretty cool (photos coming soon!). The descent posed more challenges; the patchy cloud made staying VMC a little interesting, but I was able to dodge them and return down to 1500ft. The route back in to Kissimmee had to be flown at 800ft due to the lowering cloudbase; however visual navigation was not a problem as I merely followed the railway line back into the vincity of Kissimmee, where I could see the airfield & the local VRP.

The second flight of the day was a repeat of yesterday's cross-country....without my instructor! It went surprisingly easy; the only problems were a lowering cloudbase & some haze that forced me to fly lower than intended. I also had to dodge a few rainshowers, but that posed no problem and didn't take me too far off my track. The weather was quite good near the sea, surprisingly.

I was due to fly a third flight today, but like yesterday the weather forecasters have predicted a thunderstorm overhead within the hour. I'm not overly worried, as I now need less than 10hrs to complete my license, and I have just under 2 weeks before I have to go home.

16 June 06 - Solo Chat & A Flight To The Beach

Another very early start today - also an interesting morning as 5 student solo pilots from England headed out to the practise area. Cue a lot of chatter on the training frequency! An example was "Would you like some cookies?" (Random American pilot) "Affirm on the cookies" - Dan "My mum won't let me have cookies" - Si. I was highly amused as I carried out my stalls & steep turns.

Try as I might I couldn't get the Cessna to stall....it turned out later that I wasn't pulling back on the column suddenly enough, which resulting in a steady mush down & height loss rather than a stall.

Later in the day me & my instructor flew to Sebastian, which is on Florida's East Coast. We flew at 500ft down the beach, from where we could see the sea turtles & my instructor's girlfriend! We didn't even get lost either.

15 June 06 - Cross-countries x2

Despite a very interesting night at the "British Pub" last night, where participated in the karaoke by singing "I've Got A Brand New Combine Harvester" by The Wurzels, I was up at 5.30am for my 7am cross-country flight to Inverness, to the northwest of Kissimmee. The flight went generally ok (in that we didn't get lost!), with the only problems really being from a lack of forward thinking on my part overall, and my mis-selection of the traffic frequency, which lead to us landing on the opposite runway direction to another aircraft...! However we saw him on base leg and safely avoided a collision. My second flight was to Merritt Island, which is just to the south of Cape Canaveral, launch site of the Space Shuttle. This flight went much better than the first, and proceeded much more smoothly. In a few days I should be ready to solo cross-country, I hope.

14 June 06 - Didn't We Just Leave This Scene...

Despite optomistic projections regarding today's weather, a lowered cloudbase and high winds have prevented any of us lowly VFR students flying today. Pity - I got up extra early too! It's even more frustrating as I'm now 6 days behind - and we're approaching the halfway point of the course. It's probably worse than I feel, but being stuck on the ground is beginning to grate (There's only so much lazing by the TV a chap can take....). It's very ironic considering one of the main reasons we came here (apart from the cost) was to escape the UK's bad weather....However apparently back home they've got clear skies...how ironic!

12 June 06 - Tropical Thunderstorms - Woo.

Today would have been a great day to go fly except for one minor detail - the impending thunderstorm warning. I meandered over to my mate's flat early this moring to be told to shut the door, quick, as Fox News was warning that a tropical storm, named Alberto & blessed with 50mph winds, was 15 minutes away. So we battened down & waited. And waited. And waited some more....until Fox said that in actual fact the worst of the storm seemed to be dissapating. We therefore decided to go shopping! (as the cloudbase & rain were not dissapating at all, thus preventing any possible flight by us).

It looks pretty certain that tommorrow will be a no-go too. We have some leeway in the program, but we're all fairly nervous about not being able to get the requisite number of hours in (45). Still...at least the time can be used (in theory) to study for our comms practical. I say in theory, because most people have spent the time at the Mall shopping! I went yesterday, 4 hours was enough. Nice tacos though.

Also, add one to the equipment failure - but not here! Apparently one of my colleagues who has yet to join us out here suffered a radio failure...on his first solo no less! Still, he followed correct procedures & landed safely, which is good to hear.

11 June 06 - Back Up!

Having been grounded for 3 days, I was greatly relived to wake up today with fully functional ear canals! Especially as I had a 7am flight booked....As it turned out, despite the early start (5.30am) it went just fine - my 7am consisted of short-field landings in the Kissimmee circuit & Winterhaven with my instructor. I then typed up part my blog until 10.30am, at which time I was allowed to fly off on my lonesome into the practise area!

My trip was generally uneventful; I proceeded out to the practise area south of the airport and carried out steep turns, slow flight & stalls - although the last was curtailed somewhat due to the lowering cloudbase, which I found out later my mate Daryl, who was also in the practise area, had flown into! I only spotted two aircraft in the area, but still managed to get a tad too close to one, as he overflew me at a range of around 400-300ft. The recovery back to ISM was a little complicated due to my approach to midfield for Runway 33 not 15 as instructed, but due to a very gentle prompt from the Tower it wasn't a problem.

When I got back I found out about my mate Ollie having a engine failure (fortunately on the runway!) and Daryl's cloud encounter. Interesting day today; the total 'incident count' so far is 2 ASI failures, 1 radio failure, 1 ground engine failure, 1 control restriction, 1 brake fluid loss and 1 mag cut. Those last two were mine, so I consider myself to have gotten off lightly, as they occured on the ground before take-off.

07 June 06 - First Solo! And Then An Ear Infection...!

Today was a good day for a solo...especially at 7am as the winds were non-existant, and the air very smooth. After a check ride, the instructor jumped out....and off I went! My fellow first solo student friend and I were positioned together at the hold doing power checks, and we could tell we both feeling very much ready to go by the number of cheesy salutes & hand signals!.

Looking back at the solo flight now, which lasted all of half-an-hour, consisting of 3 touch-and-goes (circuits around the airfield involving a take off and landing), on Cessna 152 N48284, nothing really exciting happened- no dramas, no botched landings, no dodgy approaches...but that's what made it so special at the same time! I can truly say that I felt fully confident in my ability to take off by myself and then land safely again, and deal with any emergency that could arise. It was a great feeling, and one that has to be experienced to understand.

One minor happening did occur though; on my last approach I could see my fellow student getting a tad too close to me on base leg; this coupled with a slow approach from me forced him to go around - I don't think he was too impressed at the time, but he saw the funny side later!

The day did not end so good however; after a cross country to the west, to Zephyrhills, my ear steadfastly refused to unblock 3 hours after the end of the flight. Suspecting the worst, I went to a walk-in clinic, where I was told that I had a "very impressive ear infection"! I'll say so, it was certainly making a impression on me. The upshot was that I was to be off flying for 72 hrs. Whilst I was most annoyed, especially having just gone solo, I did recognise that if I was to fly with a blocked ear, there would be a very good chance that the eardrum would blow, and end my commerical flying career before I starts. I therefore resolved to put the time to good use, and study hard. OK, in all fairness that probably means I will spend a fair deal of time by the pool/TV/bar then.......

06 June 06 - An Annoying Lack Of Brake Fluid

My afternoon flight today (the first of two) was somewhat delayed due to my first aircraft ever going tech! Quite fortunately it happened on the ground - as I was taxi-ing to the active runway, the aircraft suddenly veered to the left. At first I thought it was my dodgy taxi skills making a comeback, but I quickly discovered that the aircraft's left brake was jammed fully on. We had come to rest on the taxiway, blocking 3 aircraft from taking off. As we could not immediately solve the problem, a tug was dispatched to tow us away. However before we got here, a spot of quick investigative work by my instructor managed to free the offending brake - but then neither worked at all. We were able to taxi back to the stand using rudder & the nosewheel steering, whereupon the aircraft was inspected by the chief pilot.

It later transpired that the brake fluid was quite low. The cause was never fully explained to me, but the fault was quickly rectified by Maintenance. Meanwhile we flew off in another aircraft, and I finally started to make some progress on keeping the centreline. Later on in the day (much later, so much so in fact by the time we landed it was almost technically night) we flew again, this time in a very well-equipped Cessna (it even had a GPS!). By the end of the flight, Orlando had started to light up, and the air was extremly smooth. All in all a very nice flight, even more so as my landing were starting to come together.

05 June 06 - Flying To Winterhaven

I've found that landing the Cessna 152 is much easier than doing so in the PA-28, but keeping the centreline as I roll out has so far eluded me somewhat. I invariably end up veering over to the left-hand side of the runway, despite my attempts to feed in sufficent right rudder. However it appears merely to be a question of practise, so hopefully I'll improve over time. My taxi-ing already is beginnning to get better.

Today's 2nd flight was a small cross-country to Winterhaven, a small uncontrolled airfield to the southwest of Kissimmee. We proceeded to do a few touch and goes there, working on me capturing the centreline (which I managed to do - the only problem was the aircraft went through about 3 bumps back into the air during the landing...). One other OFT aircraft was also in the circuit, and I was surprised at the more casual nature of the RT transmissions on the traffic frequency (so much more relaxed than in the UK).

04 June 06 - Cessna 152s & First Flight

None of us could sleep past 7am today...not because we were eager, but largely due to jet lag! No problem though, for the first time in my life I enjoyed a 7am brekfast by a pool, in a fairly warm morning sun.

There was a rumour in the group that the school was intending to fly us all on Cessna 152s (rather than the PA-28s we had trained on back at Denham in the UK). Upon reaching the flying school, this rumour was confirmed to be true....but after due thought, and a look at a Cessna 152, I decided that personally, it wasn't an issue, as I liked the look of the aircraft, and it would be a good experience to fly a different type. However some of my colleagues (rightly or wrongly) decided that this was unacceptable; as they didn't want to spend extra hours learning to fly a different type. Some took this up with the management, and were eventually put onto PA-28s again. There was friction, but we ended up being spilt 50-50 between the two types fairly comfortably.However one issue that remains is the cost; the school charges $10 per hour more to fly the PA-28, but we're all on the same rate. That works out to a difference of $300 over our 30 hours flying here; that's enough for around 3 hours or so of flying. Therefore I intend to take this up with the management!

After my flight on the 152, I decided that I preferred it! It seemed much lighter on the controls, and easier to fly. I also found it easier to land, though I'm not entirely sure why; it's probably due to the slower speeds it can land at. My only gripes were the lack of visibilty to the sides and up; the 152 has a high wing as opposed to the PA-28's low wing. Consequently the 152 has a good view of the ground but a poor view of the sky. Although this can be solved by weaving about to scan the sky, it still makes maintaining a good lookout for other aircraft difficult.

My other first impressions upon flying the C-152 were that the RT procedures in the US are different to those in the UK; not vastly, but much more relaxed and easier to get along with. Indeed idle "chit-chat" over the practise area is something that would never happen back home, but it's quite acceptable here. The area is quite interesting too- very flat, and many many lakes....many of which are home to a fair few alligators!

03 June 06 - Arrival In Florida

After a fairly early start (which followed a day of packing followed by a send-off at the pub) we arrived at Gatwick & proceeded to check in fairly quick. This was swiftly followed by an All-American brekfast at Frankie & Bennys (it seemed strangely appropriate!). A few special people were there to see me off. Having gotten to the correct gate, on time, with no problems...I was feeling pretty good....but then the staff announced that there would be a 3-hour delay, as our Boeing 747 aircraft, Virgin Atlantic's "Pretty Women" had a delaminated windshield!

It wasn't so bad though, as a few of my coursemates had turned up (they were on a later flight) so we sat in the pub and consumed the last cider we would probably have for a month. As things turned out...it was more like a 4 hours wait! As the windshield was replaced (in front of our eyes, as the aircraft sat at the gate) and we had to wait for a late passenger. The flight was uneventful, apart from the Spanish woman in the seat in front of me who didn't seem to understand the phrase "Your bloody seat is in my face, please stop reclining". I was able to see Cape Canaveral, with it's VAB and 2x Shuttle launch gantries. Very cool.

US Immigration posed no problems, and after a few queues I got a taxi to Kissimme Airport. The OFT/Cabair people were kind enough to stay on late for me (by this time it was about 9pm local time) and also to pay for my taxi. I was then reunited with the some of the rest of my course! who were all waiting for me. The rest of us were arrving tommorrow. We then proceeded directly to a restaurant for lobsters! First impressions of the US; hot, cheap food, very polite people and a slighty scary locale (we were told it was not safe to be out after dark alone as there was the possibilty of abduction!).