Miami Adventure

With a business trip of a few days in Miami, I thought I’d try to see if I could squeeze in some training and familiarisation with the differences of PPL flying in the US. I already had a valid and legal FAA private pilot certificate (based on my UK licence) from last year’s trip to Florida, where I gained a seaplane rating. However, I hadn’t flown above 500 feet, used the radio or read a sectional chart in the US. I wanted to be closer to a position to be able (and comfortable) about renting a plane in the country in the future. I’d also seen the comparatively low prices to rent a glass cockpit aircraft, equipped with a Garmin G1000, and wanted to see what that was like too.

A simple appeal for information on one of the bulletin boards suggested Wayman Aviation in Opa-Locka airport, on the north side of Miami. One phone call secured my booking, and I turned up to find a professional flight training establishment with a range of aircraft, a large pilot supply shop and several instructors. This is a Part 141 school and it conducts professional flight training on sub-contract to Pan Am as well as catering for private pilots such as myself. After discussing my requirements with Amit, my instructor for the day, we first spent some time on groundschool. He ran through the differences of airspace, radio call, flight service/ATC and other procedures.

I was given a student account which included a website login, allowing me to reserve planes and instructors, see what I’d bought and paid for and track my activities with the school/club. This was already looking better than many schools/clubs in the UK.

After discussing my requirements, Amit proposed we start with an hour of groundschool, then “fly” the G1000 simulator. We’d then take a flight in a C172 fitted with the G1000 to include a landaway and some sightseeing, so I could familiarise myself with the procedures, see what the G1000 could do and enjoy the views.

I noted several specific differences between UK and US, and list a few below:

Free extensive pilot briefing services

Any pilot can call 1-800-WXBRIEF anywhere in the US for a personal consultation about any private flight. Your briefer will run through the likely weather conditions and determine where they will be VFR or IFR, and explain the NOTAMs and other airspace restrictions (such as for presidential flights) on the phone. They’ll answer any specific questions and have all the information about your route at their fingertips. This service is completely free of charge.

Once you’ve captured this information and worked out your PLOG, you can then call back to file a VFR flight plan by dictating it on the phone. It is available to use immediately, but will be cancelled if not activated within an hour. They remember the details from previous flight on that aircraft, so you don’t have to dictate your phone number etc. every time unless they change. Once filed, you then have 60 minutes to activate it.

VFR flight plans are activated by ATC on a different frequency

Flight plans aren’t activated by the tower of the airfield you depart, or even the ATC giving you radar control (flight information service). Instead you must change to a different frequency to request flight plan activation or closure. While flight plans aren’t required for shorter or general handling flights, they are recommended for longer landaways. It’s very important to close them within 30 minutes of landing.

I’m not sure if this (activating on a different frequency) also applies to IFR flight plans.

Airspace

We have lots of Class G uncontrolled airspace in the UK. In the US, Class E begins typically either 700 or 1200 feet above the ground almost everywhere. You don’t need to be on the radio in Class E, but it’s recommended. For Class C and D airspace, you don’t need formal permission to enter (the “Cleared to Enter Controlled Airspace” phrase is essential for Class A and B). Instead, you must be in two way contact with the controller. What happens is that if you call up and they aren’t ready for you they will say “aircraft calling…. standby” rather than use your callsign. Once you’ve received a message with your callsign, you can then legally enter the controlled C or D class airspace. Class A only exists above 18,000 feet – something that we’d all like to see in the UK.

There are restricted areas for military use. Some are permanently out of bounds, others can be crossed at certain times subject to checking with the authority stated on the chart. Some have numbers while others seem to be known by names.

Radio Calls

These were remarkably similar to those I had used at Lyneham. After departure, the tower will just say “frequency change approved” and you need to know to change to Miami Approach (or whatever) and announce you are “with them at XXX feet”. With Mode S transponders commonplace here, air traffic probably already know who you are and where you are going.

I was given a crib sheet with the standard calls for a VFR departure, and we also walked through the return sequence.

Approach patterns

I had to remember to say “traffic pattern” rather than “circuit”. They don’t have overhead joins here, instead joining 45 degrees into the downwind leg. This would be at traffic pattern height, i.e. 1000 feet above airfield elevation. If you were joining from the other side of the pattern, you would fly over the centre of the runway at 1500 feet, descending in a turn opposite to traffic pattern and rejoining downwind midway at 45 degrees. You’d report midfield rather than saying downwind. You could expect to be cleared to land before turning base in many cases.

In a non-towered airport, you give traffic calls on the CTAF (Common Traffic Advisory Frequency) prefixed with the name of the airfield, your aircraft type but no tail number. For example, “Daytona Beach, Cessna 172 downwind for 09L, Daytona Beach”.

At towered airports (with radar), it’s common to be vectored directly onto final.

G1000 Simulator

We then moved to the G1000 simulator. I’d read the manual beforehand, but it was nice to see the unit and be able to familiarise myself with the unit and press the buttons before going up into the air. The instructor ran through the various capabilities, from COM and NAV frequency selection, NAVAID (GPS, VOR etc.) setup, GPS (and approach) setup through to transponder and the engine management readouts.

We then quickly simulated a short flight including an ILS approach. I found it difficult to fly at first, perhaps not quite sure if I was in VFR or IFR mode. The instructor quickly changed the cloudbase to simulator IFR conditions and we continued, but I still found it awkward and wasn’t keeping height particularly well – and also making very rough control inputs. He selected the ILS approach for the return and we talked through what the radio calls would be. The approach was pretty shaky – I busted the platform height and was far too rough with course corrections on final. But we did land (twice).

I found the lag between control inputs and visual changes disconcerting. This is also why I haven’t got on with flight simulators since I started flying properly, but I may have to give this another go.

Now for real

The aircraft we be used for the real flying was a Cessna 172 with the Garmin G1000 glass cockpit. Although I had started off learning to fly in the smaller Cessna 152, I’ve never been in a 172 before. They are high wing aircraft, which means they suffer much less from ground effect than a PA28 which can float further down the runway on landing.

The various critical speeds are slower than the PA28, for example a stall speed as low as 35 knots with full flaps. Cruising speed is around 90-95 knots.

Before heading off to the aircraft, Amit had ensured he had a written flight plan (plog) and was especially vigilant about having a specific weight and balance calculation he could show for this flight. He also had the various certificates, insurance papers etc. – it seems that ramp checks do happen here and there are consequences if you don’t have everything with you.

Pre-flight was pretty straightforward. I had forgotten about the 13 point fuel drain check required on these aircraft. Five on each wing plus three underneath the aircraft. Amit filled the test bottle with a sample from each one, and then poured it back into the tank. We had full fuel, enough for 6 hours endurance.

Running through the startup sequence, there is a 2 hour standby battery for the G1000 in case of electrical failure. There are also three “steam powered” instruments in case of major failures. If one of the screens isn’t working, there is a fallback mode which displays most of the information on either one. Annunciators would quickly tell you of any problem in case you missed it.

Garmin G1000

The engine start sequence was slightly unusual perhaps – more akin to the (fuel injected) Arrow. Fuel pump on, watch the fuel pressure indicator needle move, then off. Mixture off, but push in when the engine fires and at the same time pull out the throttle to idle around 1000 rpm. It’s a fuel injected engine, so no carb heat to worry about.

Departure

After start, taxi to “spot one” – a known airport location – where you call up the tower and report your location, ATIS information and request taxi. It’s a long taxi down to the hold at the other end of the airport, and when we do runup checks (what we call power checks), the right mag reading is a bit low. The plugs are probably fouled from that long slow taxi – should have used a weaker mixture perhaps. After running at 2000 rpm for a minute, it’s cleared and reads correctly. We move into position and report ready for departure.

The tower at Opa-Locka is being rebuilt, so they are using a temporary building for now – it should be done in a few weeks.

Temporary control tower at Opa Locka

There were separate frequencies for ground and tower. At this point, we were given a squawk code and cleared for takeoff. Once airborne, we are told “frequency change approved” and switch to Miami approach (we were given the frequency on the ground with our clearance) saying “1403 Romeo with you at 800 feet” as we commence our turn to the left. We had taken off on 9L and wanted to fly west to the edge of Miami before turning north on our route. After a short delay, they came back and confirmed we were identified and under radar control (this is Class D airspace).

The G1000 provided clear indication of our route. The unusual bit was the turn co-ordinator/ball, which appears as an arrow at the top of the direction indicator. The ball is shown as a block directly underneath the triangular arrow and moves out to either side if you are not co-ordinated. It took a little getting used to. The 180 hp engine meant I needed a bootful of right rudder to compensate as we climbed out.

Edge of Miami

Scattered clouds at 1000 feet

From the western edge of Miami, we routed north up a clearly defined road with swamps on both sides. If you have to make a forced landing, its recommended to come down on the road or tracks nearby the swamp areas – otherwise you risk being eaten by alligators after that perfect glide landing. We followed the road fairly closely up towards Lake Okichobee, where we planned to land at an untowered airfield called Pahokee (KPHK). We switched to Palm Beach approach (keeping the same squawk) as we neared the area, and they then advised us to switch to the CTAF (Common Traffic Advisory Frequency) as we neared the airfield – telling us they saw no traffic to affect. There were scattered clouds at around 1000 feet, so we maneouvered around them to remain VFR.

Pahokee

G1000 navigation view approaching Pahokee

In due course, the airfield came into view and we announced ourselves – “Pahokee traffic, Cessna 172 approaching from the South West, any traffic in the area please report, Pahokee traffic”. You don’t give your callsign, just your aircraft type. There was nothing else around, so we made a downwind join for 17 (the calm wind meant that either runway could have been in use), then a standard traffic pattern for a full stop landing. Strangely there were several huts directly under the flight path, while a few yards away there was only empty fields. They must like hearing aircraft direclty overhead!

The 172 seems to fly slower than the PA28 I am used to – approach speed was 65, stall speed on full flaps of 35. I rounded out a bit high but it was a fairly gentle landing. A hard runway with separate hard taxiway, plenty of parking (hard standing with tie-downs) and fuel pump. It seemed very strange that such a well equipped facility had no tower or air/ground service. Although we didn’t go inside, there was a cafe (and courtesy car – free if you buy fuel) and possibly some basic maintenance facilities.

Circuits

We then did a couple of circuits, making the appropriate radio calls and getting used to the approach configuration. I’m not used to a high wing aircraft, and so as we turned onto base and final, it was strange not to be able to see the runway because the wing dipped into the line of sight.

On one circuit, another aircraft announced they were planning to arrive on a VOR course (practicing the instrument approach) and then take the missed approach procedure. We caught sight of them when they were on 1 mile final and we were still on base. This self-announcing radio process worked surprisingly well without a radio controller on the ground – at least for the minimal amount of traffic around that day.

It did seem strange not to have to book in or pay to land or practice circuits at such a well equipped airfield.

Return leg back to Opa-Locka

After departure, we retraced our route back down the highway to Opa-Locka. We played with the G1000 a little, entering the different airport destinations and seeing how easy it was to pull up the appropriate information. We didn’t have a VFR flight plan for this return leg, and also didn’t even bother with Flight Following Service – we simply squawked 1200 and followed our route. As we approached Opa-Locka, Amit called them up and made our request to fly through their zone and then on down to Miami beach area. We were first asked to squawk ident, so the controller could be sure which aircraft we were. This surprised me, since I had thought the Mode S transponder would show up our tail number on their screen. It seems that not all controllers have equipment that shows this information yet.

Sightseeing over Miami beach

After a short delay, we were given a unique squawk code and told to proceed. Since he had already answered our initial call, we were already authorised to enter the Class D airspace. We were then handed over the Miami approach, who granted our request and told us where to report next. With the autopilot on, it was a simple case of just turning the course knob to fly down the central channel between Miami downtown and the beach strip taking plenty of pictures. It wasn’t a particularly sunny day – it had been raining earlier – but the views were spectacular. I could see the hotel we had stayed at and the whole area.

Miami

Miami beach golf course

Maimi Beach

South Miami Beach

After turning south of Biscaye lighthouse, we returned northbound just offshore the main beach area. It was a surprise to see so many golf courses on what is just a sand bar. The whole area is very built up.

Entrance to Maimi harbour from the west

Miami Beach from the west

Once parallel with Opa-Locka, we flew inbound and switched back to the tower. We listened first to the ATIS to ensure we had the right pressure setting and runway information, then reported this in our initial call.

Return to Opa-Locka

We were cleared to join downwind for 09L. What surprised me was to be cleared to land number 2, when another aircraft on final had also been given landing clearance. I spotted the aircraft which was well ahead. We also saw a helicopter depart to the west just south of us.

Landing again was a little high on the roundout, but fairly smooth and we taxied off one of the many exit points before conducting the after landing checks. Taxied back to the FBO and shutdown, tied down – no need for covers here.

Amit and the G1000 C172 we flew together

After a short debriefing and a little paperwork, I was done. I had a look round the pilot shop and was remarkably restrained – only buying a magazine – before hopping in a taxi for my flight home.

Summary

All in all, a great experience. Perhaps I tried to pack too much into the time and should have concentrated on a simpler aircraft checkout and BFR. But it was great to see what the G1000 was like and get a feel for it, plus the sight seeing was very enjoyable. There will be another time to pickup the qualifications, and I don’t feel ready for a solo flight in the US quite yet.

Some useful US sites for navigation worth looking at include SkyVector and AirNav. These have onscreen charts for the whole of the US and are great for route planning. Another interesting site is LiveATC where you can listen to live air traffic radio services from many US locations.

Time this flight: 2:45
Total Time: 198:00

Piper Arrow II differences training

A faster aircraft

The club fleet includes a Piper Arrow II – a step up from the Warriors I learnt on and normally fly. This has a more powerful engine (180bhp instead of 160), retractable undercarriage (much less drag, so goes faster) and a variable prop (more efficient, so also goes faster). These features enable a cruising speed of around 150mph (approx 130 knots) with similar fuel consumption.  It also has an autopilot, which can follow a VOR track or simply a heading and is IFR equipped. I’d been a passenger in it a few months back, when Andy flew it on a short local flight to Gloucester and back.

This is more of a “going places” aircraft than for practicing circuits, and so isn’t used for general training. The additional features means that differences training is required before you can fly it solo. This isn’t just a club requirement, these so-called “complex” features are found on other cruising aircraft and require a one-off instructor validation in your logbook. While I believe there’s no legal requirement to keep current on complex aircraft, club rules require a checkout if you haven’t flown it within the last 42 days (60 for those with more than 100 hours PIC). So this means I would have to ensure I fly it at least that often no matter how much I flew the Warriors.

I had put off taking the differences training until after I had completed my 100 PIC hours, but recently changed my mind. One of the Warriors will be out for some weeks for major maintenance work, and with growing demand for those remaining, the Arrow would be a better choice. It’s IFR equipped too, although some of the avionics are a bit on the older side. Although it costs a little more per hour to hire, the 50% increase in cruising speed means that longer trips are cheaper overall.

Last minute hiccups

With the weather having been unusually good all week – a high pressure system was sat over the UK all the time – the forecast was for that to continue through the weekend. Fog and haze were expected, with visibility improving throughout the day. My instructor, Mike, texted me the previous evening to warn me that he might not be well enough to fly the following day – he had come down with a cold. I was also fighting one off, with several colleagues off work that week. Fortunately, things came together on the day and we were on.

In retrospect, I wouldn’t have enjoyed flying anywhere in the murky haze that we found ourselves in. This was a much better use of the time instead.

Groundschool

Mike had sent me some material to read up beforehand, which explained the theory and engineering of variable propeller designs. He ran through a comprehensive set of slides in the club office, answering the few questions I had, and tailoring the discussion to the aircraft in question. Both retractable gear and variable prop were covered, including all the emergency procedures. There were clear photos of the few extra controls involved, including the emergency gear down lever which I hope never to have to use.

I had preflighted the aircraft before Mike arrived, finding only that the navigation beacon wasn’t operating. This proved to be a popped out circuit breaker, which was quickly resolved. Mike showed me the undercarriage, pointing out the locking mechanism that ensures it stays down when it’s meant to.

Starting up

The starting procedure is slightly different to the Warrior. Being fuel injected, there’s no need to manually prime by pumping it and there’s no Carb Heat to turn on and off. However, there is an “Alternate Air” control. Starting with the mixture control fully off, the mixture is advanced as soon as the engine catches. It idles at around 1400rpm, faster than the 1000 of a Warrior.

Departure

After the usual power checks, we departed on 08 with virtually no wind. The Airspeed Indicator is marked in MPH, and we gently lifted off at rotation speed. The more powerful 180bhp engine meant that I needed to use more right rudder to compensate for the stronger P factor. As we passed the end of the runway, I dabbed the footbrakes and pulled the gear up lever. The aircraft seems to shoot forward at this point, speeding up because it’s not got the drag of the wheels. Rather than speeding up too much, we climbed up at 85mph – the climb rate seemed a bit quicker than the Warrior. There was haze all around and long range visibility wasn’t good, although we could see the ground directly below us.

As we climbed, it was clear to see that the manifold pressure (effectively the throttle setting) dropped by 1 inch every 1000 feet – just as the book said it would.

Heading across to Gloucester, we switched to their frequency and received a basic service. We did some general handling to the North West, around Ledbury – keeping pretty high up most of the time, between 4000 and 6000 feet. Mike showed me how to adjust the prop lever and set cruise speed, then we practiced a circuit procedure including gear and flaps down. Unlike other complex aircraft, the Arrow will fly with the gear down at up to 150 MPH, but it’s recommended to slow down to 120 before deploying it.

We ran through some of the emergency procedures, including catching me out by turning on the panel lights. A “feature” of the Arrow is that this dims the 3 green gear down lights, which can easily catch out the unwary. It’s the first thing to check on the emergency gear not down checklist. Mike advised me that if I should find myself unable to lower the gear when in the circuit, concentrate on flying the airplane and going somewhere safe to sort it out (e.g. climb above the overhead if clear).

We also practiced stalls and a PFL from height, which would have got me into a field. Although there were plenty of fields around, they all seemed to be ploughed up with deep furrows at this time of year. With calm wind, the orientation of the field wasn’t really a factor. After selecting one, I made a right hand turn to lose height and position myself for it – losing sight of it briefly (which Mike warned me I might do) – but regaining the view just as I was turning final.

Circuits

As we passed Gloucester and returned to Kemble, it was difficult to make out the airfield in the murk. We were still speeding along at some 150MPH, so Mike encouraged me to slow down before getting into the circuit itself. When moving the prop lever forward, the engine makes a strange noise as the system adjusts to the new setting, then sorts itself out.

Kemble offered me an overhead join for 08RH, but since we were approaching from the north I arranged for a crosswind join instead. Having slowed down to 120MPH by now, I deployed the gear down which slowed us further. I didn’t respond quickly enough and we lost height to about 800 feet. With another aircraft taking off, Mike was keen for me to get back up to circuit height before we crossed the threshold on the crosswind leg.

I made three approaches in all. One was low and I had to drag it in, the last I cut the power a little too early as we crossed the numbers and the landing was a little heavier. With little or no wind, these were ideal conditions to learn the different handling. Mike advised me to keep the power on until the round out – unlike a Warrior, the Arrow will simply stop flying and dump you on the runway if you slow down too early. It’s also important to keep the nosewheel up, to reduce the impact. With a comparatively smaller tailplane and heavier engine up front, it’s important to pull back hard on the yoke during this final stage of landing.

We refuelled, taxied back and debriefed. Mike signed my logbook, and I’m now qualified to fly the Arrow solo. This being my first flight with an instructor during my second year as a PPL holder, it also completed the requirement for 1 instructor flight hour (the European equivalent of a US BFR, Bi-annual Flight Review). I’ve therefore also completed the requirements to revalidate my PPL licence for another 2 years until almost the end of 2014 – it just needs a bit of paperwork signed off towards the end of the year.

All in all a successful day and best use of what was pretty murky visibility all round. I think it will be a bit daunting to fly the Arrow solo straight off, so perhaps I’ll ensure there’s another pilot along for that next ride.

Total Time today: 2:00 (Dual)
Total Time: 183:05 (PIC 90:00)

Passed the IMC Skills Test

After 6 months of training and having completed the full IMC syllabus twice (at different flying schools), I was getting to the stage where I just wanted to finish this off.

Weather initially looked dubious

The weather at home wasn’t good – dark clouds and impending rain. A quick look at the weather report for Oxford showed winds from the North – giving me some concern that the airport would be using runway 01 (which doesn’t have an ILS nor allow training instrument approaches due to confliction with Brize Norton airspace). However a quick call to the flying school confirmed they were still landing on 19 because the surface winds were so calm.

The 90 minute drive to Oxford took me through changing weather including some nice sunny patches. I was in a very much better frame of mind than the previous day and more hopeful of being able to take the test.

On arrival, the examiner, who I’d met the previous day, was at pains to put me at ease.

Test went according to plan

I won’t do through the test procedure in great detail, except to say that all the required elements were run through including full and partial panel, tracking, position fixing and returning by tracking the ILS. After such extensive training, a lot of this seemed second nature and it didn’t catch me out. I was very pleased with how closely I tracked the approach which we continued down to 200 feet so I could see how it would look (on the clear understanding that this isn’t the minima that an IMC pilot should consider using).

I believe that the main criteria the examiner was looking for was whether I could safely fly on instruments and follow radar vectors to an ILS (or similar approach aid) for a let down should I get into trouble. It didn’t feel that he was checking to see if I was at the level of a full instrument rating quite yet. My instructor had been very thorough and patiently covered almost every eventuality of what could come up during the test, so this put me in good shape to meet the test standard.

Nonetheless, I feel I did deserve to pass and would be confident of flying safely in IMC, although I’m not intending to go looking for trouble.

What this entitles me to do

The rating permits me (in UK airspace) to fly out of sight of the surface, in or above clouds, (outside controlled Class A/B/C airspace) which is pretty much most of where I’d want to go.
I would be allowed to take off with a cloudbase as low as 600 feet and a runway visual range of 1800 metres
It doesn’t allow me to fly in clouds in Class A/B/C airspace (although the permitted minimum visibility is reduced) or in Airways.

In practice, this means if it’s a cloudy day I could choose to fly above the clouds to get somewhere and land at  (non-major) airport with instrument approach. This will mean I could decide to go flying on days where previously it would have seemed marginal – someone said it increased their “dispatch rate” from 50 to 75%. You still wouldn’t go if there was bad weather (heavy rain, fog, strong winds) or a low cloudbase – although it might be legally permitted, it’s nice to know you have some height when breaking out of the clouds before landing if your engine conks out.

A long slog

In total, my IMC training has taken 31 hours of dual instruction of which 24 hours instrument time. Probably a record!! (the minimum time is 15 hours, which is achievable). In part this was down to a range of factors – change of instructors (I had four), difficulty scheduling training slots (after a days work wasn’t a good idea), changing to a different school (which takes time for them to assess you) and a new airfield (learning a new set of aids/procedures).

My licence rating application form and logbook will be posted out to the CAA tomorrow – I can’t officially use the rating until they send me it back in print – and I will be asking around for other pilots in the club to share some IMC practice with me.

The main thing is to keep in practice so that it won’t catch me out should I need to use it for real.

IMC Training Day #16: Exam prep and ILS approach

The plan for today was to finish it all off. I’d booked a lesson with EB first, followed by a slot after lunchbreak with an examiner to conduct the IMC skills test.

To say I was apprehensive at this stage would be putting it mildly. The weather forecast indicated winds of 15 gusting 25 from the south west – a crosswind for the normal runway which would be outside aircraft demonstrated limits – together with rain showers. The school still thought it worthwhile my driving up, so when I got there we discussed the options. My instructor strongly hinted that today didn’t have suitable conditions to take the exam itself and suggested we just had the lesson instead. I wasn’t keen to take just the lesson and not the exam – preferring to postpone both to another day (although that might be some weeks away). I was concerned that anything I learned today might be forgotten by the time of a test some weeks later. After chatting to my instructor and the examiner who was onsite conducting a renewal for someone else, it was decided that a lesson today would be feasible with a good chance I could take the test the following afternoon. The weather outlook was much better for the following day.

ILS approach to 19

Although I had done a lot of IMC training at Oxford, I hadn’t done the full ILS procedure itself. Since the IMC test requires the use of a different approach from that signed off during training, this is the one we planned to use. I’d also heard of oneIMC student pilot who completed the ILS approach successfully during his test and was about to land (thinking he’d passed) when the examiner called for a missed approach (something that could quite easily happen in real life) and that really put him under pressure.

So the plan for today was to climb out and return back to the overhead NDB for the complete ILS approach procedure, followed by a missed approach. We’d then repeat the approach visually followed by a low level circuit to land.

This is pretty much what we did. There were a few things that EB picked me up on. I have been using the ADF to keep track of when the ILS localizer is about to come in –I find it provides a backup to let you know if you have somehow completely missed it or are way offtrack – but EB preferred me to focus entirely on the localizer itself and be ready to turn as soon as it shows any glimmer of picking up the signal. I called “base turn complete, localizer established”, and EB pointed out that these were two different statements referring to the two different types of approach – you should say “base turn complete” for an NDB approach or “localizer established” for the ILS but never both. I commented that I was sure the ATC approach controller had asked me to report base turn complete which is why I said it but EB hadn’t heard that earlier. He noted that once you say you are established you are required to keep the needle within a half scale deflection during the entire descent or it’s a mandatory test failure.

We flew it down to decision height and it was great to lift the hood and see the runway laid out below me. There was a fairly brisk crosswind (and gusty too), so I let EB land the plane with me following through on the controls. The gusts at around 150 feet weren’t repeated lower down, so it was a fairly straightforward landing in the end. Immediately taking off again, we flew back north and came in visually for a low level approach. EB made me clean up the flaps – I would have preferred to keep them down when flying so low and slow – as we made a tight oval circuit and came in to land and complete the sortie.

I was still feeling a bit apprehensive and the strong gusty crosswind wasn’t doing my confidence any good. I was told to go home, take it easy and get some rest – no point in trying to study any more – and come back refreshed for the test the following afternoon.

IMC Training Day #15: Practice Approach completion

The plan for today – instrument approach signoff

My target today was to get signoff on an instrument approach. I’ve done quite a few of these, and have been lucky enough at Lyneham to have had the opportunity of PAR (Precision Approach Radar – a talkdown by ATC typically only available at military airfields) as well as SRA, NDB and ILS methods. The only type I haven’t done is GPS, but that’s fairly limited in the UK and also requires special equipment in the aircraft. However none of these has been signed off by the instructor in my logbook – some wouldn’t have been good enough for a signoff, but I’m sure several (especially the PAR and SRA which are pretty easy – you just follow the instructions from ATC) could have qualified. For the IMC exam, you must either show that you have done a different type of approach than the one performed during the exam or the exam will need to include two types. Achieving this would also be a sign that I was making real measureable progress and getting closer to being test ready.

A false early start

It was another early start – my first lesson was booked for 9am in Oxford which meant leaving the house around 7am. When I got there however, the weather had closed in and the cloudbase was somewhere around 800 feet – those in the clubhouse were kicking their heels and thinking that it wouldn’t be a busy day. Although it was legally possible to fly in these conditions, my instructor didn’t like operating in less than 1500 feet just in case anything went wrong. So we had a bit of groundschool and went through the plan for the day thoroughly including a bit of recap.

EB was keen for us to do some partial panel work, especially recoveries. I explained that I was keen to work on the approach and really would like to get this signed off, rather than just do lots of holding patterns. He pointed out that a hold might well come up in the exam and I’d need to be able to demonstrate these – clearly he didn’t want to put me in for test until he thought I had mastered the syllabus. He felt that he had taught me the full course – “there is nothing new to teach you” – and that it was really a case of mastering the techniques through practice.

The cloud lifts and we are off

Shortly after 10, we rang the tower to ask for an update and heard a incoming pilot report cloudbase of 1800 feet. Explaining that we would get a traffic radar service from Brize once airbourne, EB said it was time to go. We quickly started up and taxied out for departure, remembering to do the instrument checks on the way (compasss, DI, turn indicator, slip indicator, ADF). I tested the brakes and asked him to do so also – he spotted that the right hand brake was a little down (not a major problem) – and that when testing brakes it’s a good idea to consider doing these separately.

Departing on the (unofficial) Daventry instrument departure as explained on my last IMC lesson, I intercepted and tracked the NDB outbound to the set distance and then tracked the Daventry VOR, checking the DME on both to ensure I was in the right place. This went pretty well, with EB talking to Brize and getting a traffic service. We conducted some partial panel work, including recoveries – the only aspect EB wanted to repeat was the recovery from a base turn configuration, but overall he was happy with my performance. We were in real IMC for much of the time, which is a slightly different feel from just wearing a hood/foggles. WIth Foggles you can still tell that there is some ground down below even if you can’t see the horizon or identify where you are. With cloud, its all completely surreal and closed in and you are absolutely reliant on instruments (which is the whole point of the IMC course).

We did some more ADF tracking, climbing and descending, and EB could see an improvement there. My biggest mistake on the sortie was the position fix, which I initially had almost right – using the VOR and DME – but stupidly interpreted the course incorrectly. I was getting a bit tired by then and so we decided to return.

We  returned “straight in” and picked up the ILS which I tracked almost all the way down to the ground. EB reminded me that once you are visual, you should ignore the ILS and switch to “VFR flying mode”. I was pleased with how close I had been able to track the ILS once acquired. EB commented that once you have declared to ATC that you have acquired the localiser, it is an exam failure point if it then goes out by more than 1/2 full scale deflection.

Second sortie of the day

My second slot was booked for 12, and I was asked if I could manage a further sortie with just 10-15 minutes break. Although the alternative was a slot at 4:30pm, I said that I needed a longer break to recover. Fortunately, the club was able to contact and ask another student to swap slots which meant I could take a 1 hour break and then continue.

Crash, bang wallop

The second slot was to run through the Oxford NDB/DME 100 procedure, with enough time to do so twice, with a view to getting this signed off by the instructor. The pressure was on. We ran through the usual checks at the hold and were just about to call ready for departure, when I looked up and saw another school PA28 coming in to land for a touch and go. It landed on the nosewheel, then bounced hard two or three times, each time higher but slower. I saw a wheel flying through the air and realised it was the nosewheel which had broken off. The aircraft ground to a halt shortly along the runway. The pilot – a student from the same school who had been up with an instructor earlier and was now solo – called the tower to say she was unhurt, and then switched off and evacuated. My instructor wasn’t sure quite what to do – this had not happened before – and we shut down, got out and went over to check she was OK.

A minute or so later, two very large fire engines appeared on the scene and the firemen went through their standard drill. One of the benefits of operating from a larger airport is that facilities like this are on hand if you really need them. We were told to leave the area and returned to our aircraft, which we taxied back to parking. The pilot was driven back to the school and debriefed, clearly unscathed if a little shocked by the event.

I have to say full marks to the school, who were keen to get her flying again as soon as possible so she will get over it. Unfortunately, there wasn’t time to do so today, but I hope she returns and regains her confidence soon.

An alternative runway available

We saw a twin engine plane land on the cross runway 29, and called the tower to ask if we could use it. Once in the aircraft and requesting taxi, the tower approved us to taxi to the hold and cheekily reminded us they were down to one runway. With a crosswind takeoff on a shorter runway, I used one stage of flaps to ensure we were off more quickly. After departure we climbed and went through the 100 NDB/DME procedure twice, including once round the hold each time.

I thought my ADF tracking was a lot better than in previous sessions, and EB commented that my height keeping was also very much improved than before although still far from perfect. The hold took a little longer than the 3 minutes it ideally takes – 3:30 the first time and 3:20 the next. EB reminded me that the hold time isn’t 4 minutes, it’s 3 for the outbound/turn and inbound legs combined. The target is 3 minutes for that – starting from when you are abeam the beacon (as shown on the NDB) or wings level after the turn (whichever is later), and I should have reduced the outbound leg by a few more seconds to improve the next iteration.

After the sortie, we were able to land on runway 19 – the crashed aircraft had already been cleared and the runway was open again.

Success and progress at last

On the debrief, EB said he was happy to sign off the approach in my logbook which I was very pleased to achieve. He proposed that my next lesson should be a general refresher and go through any points I was unsure about, with the IMC test to follow ideally on the same day. I’ve booked this up for later in the month. Paul, one of the school managers, mentioned that one of their IMC test candidates had completed an ILS approach and expected to land, but had not been prepared for the go-around which the examiner then asked for, resulting in a test failure – quietly reinforcing that I should be fully prepared for such an event and really know the approach plate in detail. After all, this could easily happen in real life for any number of reasons. Something I will certainly be studying and practicing on the simulator before next time.

Overall I’m much more pleased with progress today now that the end of the course is in sight.

IMC Training Day #14: More holds and practice approach

After a summer holiday break, it was back for more IMC training at Oxford. After an early (6:30am) start, I had two separate slots booked for 9 and 1:30. I had a few problems with the car in the morning (faulty suspension meant I had to swap to our other vehicle) so despite originally setting off in good time was a few minutes late getting there. As it happened, the 10:30 slot by another student had been cancelled, so my first slot was extended. I ended up having a total of 3.5 hours of dual flight time between the two sessions.

It was good to be back in the air, and at first I didn’t think I’d forgotten too much.

Unofficial departure procedures

I’ve done a SID (Standard Instrument Departure) before. These are published procedures on the NATS website and elsewhere. In addition, Oxford has several “unofficial” departure procedures and I used one immediately after takeoff. I think it was the Daventry departure. This consisted of turning right after climbing out on 19, and intercepting an NDB radial turn left and track it outbound. The next step involves intercepting a Daventry VOR radial which is confimed with the DME range from the original NDB.

I think it would be quite likely that an examiner might use one of these departures to quickly determine if you can intercept and track an NDB, then VOR. My instructor, EB, wasn’t saying if this was the case – he claims not to know what the examiners do on the test - but I thought that I did this part reasonably well.

More Holds

We flew across to the Westcott NDB and used the RNAV to simulate a DME range from it. I didn’t quite recall exactly how to calculate what type of hold entry to use, and since EB had a slightly different method of calculating this, I’ve determined to adopt that instead. I’d had to be reminded of the calculations/rules for drift. My hold tracking wasn’t great, and I recall at least one entry that didn’t go well due to poor situational awareness. 

The 100 procedure

In addition to instrument approaches for both runways at Oxford (of which the 01 can’t be used for practice purposes), there is a further 100 instrument approach which results into a low level maneouvre to land. We simulated this over the Westcott NDB.

I’d hoped that I would have done this well enough to be able to try it for real on the actual approach in the afternoon, but didn’t get it right.

I think one of the problems I’ve been having relates to using different techinques from the instructor for various things. Different textbooks, PC simulators and instructors all have slightly different methods. EB had said he would be happy to accomodate any other method I might be using successfully, but because I was hesitant, he reminded me of his preferred technique. I took the opportunity to write these down and will revise them thoroughly before the next session.

Return to base

On each flight from Oxford, we’ve tended to make a visual recovery to the field from about 10 miles out. EB has pointed out the various landmarks/VRPs, such as the satellite dishes and chimney to the north east (you fly between them when joining left base), and the danger area/airfield to the East. This time we were asked to orbit when 5 miles away for spacing, then proceed as normal. Other than that, few ATC delays today – the airport wasn’t busy at all, despite hosting a major event the following day.

Summary

Overall I do feel that some of the days training was less effective than it could have been, probably because I wasn’t absolutely clear on the ground beforehand. I can’t blame the instructor, who did provide a detailed pre-flight briefing and was very patient with me in the air.

He’s said there is nothing new to teach me, I just need some further practice to consolidate and perfect the techniques. I do feel I’m at a similar stage as the many PPL students stuck in the circuit prior to first solo, but am getting a little frustrated that I haven’t cracked it yet.

I think its time to spend more time on the RANT simulator until I am happy I can do this in my head on the ground before spending more expensive time in the air.

IMC Training Day #13: Unlucky for some

The plan for an NDB approach

Today the plan was to do an NDB approach. When sitting the IMC skills test, you can either do 2 different approaches in the exam itself, or have one previously signed off by an instructor. Although I had done a number of approaches at Lyneham, none had formally been signed off in this way. This would also be my first approach at Oxford, so would be a big step from the general handling I’d done here up to now.

The school called in the morning to ask me to turn up an hour early – they had booked a slot with ATC and this was the only time that was available. This was a bit of a rush, made worse by an accident on the motorway which delayed me, but when I arrived EB was still in the air with his previous trial lesson. I wrote down the ATIS and had the plate ready, but had not calculated the wind corrected headings using forecast spot winds aloft.

A delay at the hold

We headed out to the aircraft quickly to make our booked slot, and EB helped me run through the checks. When ready for departure, we called for our departure instructions and were told to standby. I was quite shocked at how slowly ATC were handling traffic, a number of light aircraft inbound and one exec jet leaving. It took 15 minutes before we got our clearance instructions and could then proceed to line up. This despite have a prior booking for a time set by ATC!

After takeoff, the foggles went on and we made a turn following the missed approach procedure while climbing, first up to 2500 then 3500 feet.

A few holds

We joined the hold directly above the airfield. The first one was too short, so that by the time I had turned back onto the inbound leg we were almost back to the beacon. EB reminded me of the 60/30 technique, where with 60 and then 30 degrees of the turn left to go, you check to see if you will be on the right track when you complete the turn. In both cases, there was overshoot (so I needed to turn further). On the third hold, we extended the outbound leg further which helped – perhaps the wind wasn’t quite as strong as forecast.

NDB/DME Approach

I then called beacon outbound and we commenced the procedure. For some reason, I didn’t immediately start the descent, which concerned EB. There’s relatively little time to get down from 3500 to 1800 feet, so important not to delay. Conducting the pre-landing checks, I checked the compass and the DI were aligned – EB pointed out that because we were descending, it might read incorrectly. I started the turn as the DME showed 6.5 and levelled off at 1800 feet. The rate 1 turn took us pretty much onto the correct approach radial and I tried to follow my precalculated track. This wasn’t well done and I drifted to be as much as 15 degrees out, although I recovered at one point and then lost it again. The workload is high during the procedure – flying the aircraft on instruments, descending and checking height while also tracking inbound and using the radio too.

An unofficial NDB approach

Taking the foggles off at our MDA of 900 feet, I could see the runway off to the left. We did a touch and go then repositioned to about 10 miles north of the field. Reporting inbound, we asked for and were granted a direct VFR approach, allowing a further shot at tracking the NDB inbound. Again, my tracking wasn’t up to scratch and EB said the +/- 5 degree tolerance wasn’t met.

It was pretty apparent that EB wouldn’t be able to sign off the approach today and I’ll need further training to get up to scratch. After yesterday’s success this came as a bit of a setback. I booked up another couple of lessons and just hope that today’s issues with ATC was an anomily.

The end of my IMC training is not yet in sight.

IMC Training Day #12: More Revision

Another IMC training day in Oxford

Following on from an earlier session at Pilot Flight Training in Oxford, I spent all day there and had a couple of training flights to continue brushing up my IMC skills and prepare for a retest. It was fairly clear that my instructor wanted to go through the syllabus and ensure I was up to scratch on everything. Today, we’d cover holds in the first session and partial panel in the second.

Unlike training from Lyneham where an instrument approach was included in almost every lesson, we wouldn’t be doing any instrument approaches yet. The reason given was the expense – at Lyneham they were effectively free, whereas at Oxford a standard charge of 18 pounds applies.

Having got up early and driven to Oxford for a 9am start, my instructor EB was there and ready to give me a ground briefing at 8:45 when I arrived.

Holds

EB had previously introduced me to the idea of using the VOR dial as an aid to calculate what type of hold entry is needed depending on the heading. Rotate the dial to the course and look at where the outbound hold heading fits. This is 180 degrees out from what the RANT tutor explains – they base it on the inbound hold heading instead (so I got a bit confused). No problem which you use as long as you are consistent.

We took up the hold over the Westcott NDB at 2300 feet and did a few of each of the three types of entry – direct, parallel and offset. EB also asked me to fix our position, which I did using the Compton VOR and DME. Much of this was done under the foggles, but later I took them off.

Returning to the field, EB pointed out some landmarks and explained the various villages and areas to avoid for noise abatement.

Partial Panel – with a turn indicator

After lunch, I had a second session which concentrated on Partial Panel operation. The aircraft only had a turn indicator rather than a turn co-ordinator, which I had been used to from before. This certainly made it more difficult. Recovery from the stall and spiral dives was practiced, which I thought went pretty well. The trick with the turn co-ordinator is to see it switch across to the other direction, rather than just being neutral, before it settles down. It was harder to detect the stall sometimes – the aircraft didn’t have an audible stall warner – but I was able to recover under control.

Different technique on approach

During the approach back to Oxford, I got a little tongue tied with the radio. I think that’s partly because there was an instructor to ask, and partly the slightly different arrangements at Oxford itself. It has separate frequencies for tower and approach, but sometimes combines them. They like getting most of the request in the initial call (completely the opposite from Kemble). QNH is used during the approach and landing – everywhere else I’ve always used QFE instead. I know that this is common in the US, but find it difficult to adjust to getting the right height on the turn to final – I was a bit high both times today. Using the PAPI lights helped a lot.

The 140HP cherokee is a little lighter than the 160HP warriors I’m used to.  I thought the landings were harder  than I would have liked, but I had slowly brought back the yoke during the roundout and there wasn’t a bounce. The trick is to keep a bit more power on during the flare. The school technique here is to approach at 80, final at 70 with 2 stages of flap (rather than 3 stages at 65).

Next steps

EB was happy with both aspects we covered today. I had hoped to do at least one instrument approach, but that was not to be. I’ll need another two sessions before resitting the IMC skills test – the first (tomorrow) will include the NDB approach to 19 (possibly including a hold). The second, next month, will include some consolidation/revisi. Then we’ll see what stage I’m at.

I have been very pleased with the standard of instruction at Pilot Flight Training. They have rightly put me through my paces and ensured I have covered and absorbed the course material. The school was pretty busy today, with both trial lessons and students, and seems to be thriving. Apart from some light aircraft visiting, a few executive jets and one commercial flight, they had the airfield pretty much to themselves.

PS: A medical checkup this week too

Earlier in the week I had visited the AME and had my annual medical, so am signed off for another year. I also took the audio test, just to check I would be OK to take a full Instrument Rating – not something I plan to do in the short term but nice to know there’s no medical restriction. Here in the UK, an audio test is required, whereas in the US there is no extra check. The recent introduction of a simplified IR in France brings some hope that a similar rating might be introduced at some point here in the UK. Here’s hoping, and perhaps my (extensive) IMC training hours will count towards it. At present, they don’t count towards the current UK IR but do if used as part of the FAA IR (which is another reason why so many UK private pilots choose to go down that route).

IMC Training Day #11: Back to basics

Another new flying school

With weekend flying no longer available from Lyneham and more IMC training required, I chose Pilot Flight Training at Oxford to bring me up to scratch. With comprehensive instrument approach facilities, training school with PA28s (which I’m used to) and reasonable prices, this seemed a good choice. The downside being a 90 minute car trip each way. It wasn’t an easy decision and I serious considered both Gloucester (I ruled them out because its so busy at weekends, and I thought fitting in instrument approaches at peak times in uncontrolled airspace might be quite awkward/inefficient) and Compton Abbas (partly because they don’t have any navaids/instrument approaches themselves and partly because details of their IMC training is a bit low key – however, I learnt just last week that they are running a specific IMC training program and have quite a few interested).

Security at Oxford Airport on arrival took me a bit by surprise. You have to sign in and get a visitors badge at the barrier, then drive to the carpark (free at weekends) and walk through to the school. I walked past the smart Oxford Aviation building and round to the Pilot Flight Training  office. It has a great view of the airfield including their parking spot.

Some new techniques explained on the ground

After filling in a membership form and discussing how best to proceed with the school manager, I was introduced to my instructor - EB – short for Ebrahim. I explained that I particularly needed brushing up on ADF tracking, but clearly the new school would need to check what level I was at and work out a way forward. Hearing that I had had difficulty with ADF tracking, he introduced me to a couple of new techniques for calculating the effect of drift using the VOR dial (not using it directly as a navigation aid).

Max drift (for a PA28) is typically 2/3rd of the windspeed in degrees. i.e. if the wind is blowing at 30 knots, then the max drift would be 20 degrees. For anything 45 degrees offset or more, then apply max drift. Use the VOR dial (ignore what the instrument reading is) by setting it to the current course and visualising where the wind is coming from. Drop down to the horizontal scale to see how much drift there is (and from which side), and look horizontally across to estimate how much headwind or tailwind component.

We also discussed use of the RMI vs RBI. Different instructors had taught me about rotating the compasss card on the ADF instrument. Some prefer to leave it permanently at zero, others to align with the DI (Direction Indicator). If you leave it at zero, then it’s an Remote Bearing Indicator (RBI), but if you always rotate the card to align with the DI, then it’s a (manual) Remote Magnetic [heading] Indicator (RMI). Although you do have to remember to rotate the card before every time you change heading, this takes out some of the mental calculation involved at the time. As EB said, when under stress flying in IMC, anything you can do to reduce workload and opportunity for errors help tremendously.

A sharp getaway

He booked us out and we jumped in. The aircraft was a PA28 Cherokee 151. Although equipped for IFR – ADF, VOR, DME were all present – it had a few differences from the PA28 Warriors I’m used to. A turn indicator rather than a turn co-ordinator. Perhaps the biggest was the trim control, which is in the roof – a windy handle similar to that for a sunroof in a 1960′s car – this will take a bit of getting used to. No heading bug on the DI.

Taking off from runway 19, EB pointed out the villages and limits of airspace (its’s close to both Brize and Hinton-on-the-Hedges). On the with foggles (these were completely black, rather than the “frosted glass” style I’ve used before) and onto the instruments. This is where I realised the AI was a different format to others I’ve used – few horizontal lines to work with, but there was a mark to show where a rate 1 turn would be.

General Handling

We then ran through some straight and level, climbs and turns followed by recoveries all under full panel. I thought this went reasonably well, but certainly wasn’t perfect. I can’t say I figured out the trim control particularly well after being used to a wheel. A couple of times I had to ask EB to remind me what target heading or height he had asked me for – I think I had previously got used to setting this using the heading bug and being able to refer to it. My short term memory must be failing me when there are other things to keep track of.

After what seemed like an hour we moved on to position fixing using the VOR. Well actually EB said I could use any of the instruments available. I chose to do a VOR cross fix, which with only one working VOR meant tuning/identing two different frequencies. Not being familiar with the area and not being exactly sure of my location, I picked two without a great intercept angle. EB pointed out I should have used a combination of VOR and DME for best accuracy.

ADF Tracking

We moved on to some ADF tracking at this point. I can’t recall when exactly in the sequence of different tasks EB suggested I remove the foggles, but it was after an hour of instrument time. We ran through using the technique he’d explained earlier to handle the drift and I thought I’d got this straight in my head. For simple tracking inbound and outbound, this worked OK, but I was still unsure at times about a couple of aspects and will need further revision on it. It all seems so straightforward when using the PC simulator, then goes to pieces when in the air.

Arrival

Returning back to Oxford, I had read that the circuit height was 1200 feet. I made the call to join left downwind but read back the QNH they gave me as QFE, which was wrong. They use QNH exclusively at Oxford, which means you land when the altimeter shows around 300 feet. I’ve never done this before, always using QFE, so my initial approach was a little high (well that’s my excuse anyway). EB suggested I use the PAPIs to ensure I was on the right glidepath and effectively aim to land between them, rather than on the numbers. Unlike other PA28 schools, I was encouraged to land with only 2 stages of flap. Pulled back in the hold off for a fairly gentle landing, albeit lacking quite enough left rudder so wasn’t as aligned as I should have been. The 7 knot crosswind meant it wasn’t a problem.

Debrief

Taxied all the way down to the end of the runway, no intermediate exitway here, and round to the grass parking area outside the school. After the usual checks, put the covers on – they have separate wing covers here, not just the bodyframe cover found elsewhere – and retired to the base. EB suggested I prepare for some holds for next time. We’ll be doing these overhead the Westcott VOR or similar elsewhere, but using the pattern in the Oxford approach plates. He also encouraged me to revise the ADF material again, and practice on the PC simulator. There will also be some partial panel work, but sounds like we won’t move on to the instrument approaches until after that.

I’ve joined the club on their 3 month membership, which I hope should be enough to see me complete the IMC. It was a bit of a shock paying “standard” club rates for IMC training, having become used to the low costs at Lyneham.  There’s a premium for IMC instruction, but the hourly rate is still competitive with other schools I’ve been to. Before I had looked at Oxford as an option, I had expected there to be quite a price premium. It used to be the busiest airfield in the UK (busier than Heathrow) when measured by number of aircraft movements, until much of the professional pilot training moved offshore a few years ago. As elsewhere, instrument approaches will be extra – Oxford charge 18 pounds each including VAT – but at least there are no extra charges for standard landings or circuits. Visitors are charged a quite reasonable 10 pounds at weekends with free parking for cars.

Booked up a couple of further sessions. Was unable to book two in the same day (eg morning and afternoon) due to the relatively short notice. While it seems a bit of a waste of a full day which could be used for a decent landaway, the drive to/from Oxford means I should be in better shape to benefit from the training. We discussed how much more training I might need to get up to test standard. I’d have to agree that it would be difficult to give an accurate estimate, especially since I haven’t demonstrated all the aspects of the skills test and still am not fully familiar with the procedures or arrangements at Oxford. I think the most important thing now is to try and stick with the same instructor and airfield for consistency unless there is a strong reason not to.

IMC Tracking and ILS

Rush, Rush, Rush

This evening’s flight was a bit of a rush. I managed to leave work on time and got to the club shortly after 6pm, to find Roger was in the air with his previous student and looked to be running a little late. I took the time to check the wind, note down the ATIS and calculate headings with the whizz wheel in preparation for ADF tracking and an ILS approach.

The weather had looked a little daunting – dark clouds brought a rain shower through – but this had cleared before the time of my flight and the sun shone through.

With Roger in an upbeat mood, he asked me to book out and preflight the aircraft while he debriefed his previous student. We’d be flying in SNUZ again, which had had the major electrical failure on Monday, but was now back in service. The session was primarily to sort out my ADF tracking problems demonstrated on Tuesday. I’d spent time re-reading the theory book and practicing the ILS approach on the RANT simulator the previous evening.

With me having completed the checks, he hopped in and I radioed for startup clearance after which we promptly taxied off (remembering to check brakes, compass/DI/Turning/Balance Ball/ADF), completed power checks and were cleared for departure.

Strong Sunshine

As we lined up (and I remembered to take a minute to double check the compass and DI aligned with the runway), the sun was shining strongly directly ahead. There isn’t a sun visor in this aircraft, so as we took off I found it difficult to see the instruments. I had to hold one hand over my brow to see them – something very unlikely to be needed in cloud. It wasn’t suitable to put sunglasses on, so instead Roger lent me his cap which helped but took a little while to sort out. We climbed to 1600 feet in the standard SID departure (with the wind from 260, there was little drift to compensate for), then turned North to depart the zone. I then requested permission to turn North West in order to intercept the 300 radial and climb to 4000 feet. Roger had me climbing whilst making the intercept which I broadly managed to do, turning onto a 30 degree intercept path until we reached it. I had calculated that we needed only a few degrees of drift correction, which I applied and we tracked this outbound to 10 miles.

Roger then asked me what the correct quadrantial level should be. With a heading between 271 and 360, I said I thought this should be “even + 500″, i.e. 4500 feet. He asked me to fly the quadrantial level and made me feel that I’d got this wrong somehow. I had thought I had the quadrantial rule correct, but was now doubting it. After a while, he pointed out that I was still on QFE and should by now be on the standard pressure setting 1013.2. When we departed the zone, I had been fiddling about with the cap and not handled the radio call which included reminding us of the regional pressure setting – so missed changing that on the altimeter. A schoolboy error perhaps, and hopefully would have been picked up with a FREDA check. I’ll also need to revise my theory about when to change to standard pressure setting again. The transition level at Lyneham is 3500 feet (or FL35). We’d used the QNH on the previous flight at this altitude and I thought that was the case again today – perhaps I had misunderstood the requirement to climb to 4000 feet actually meant FL40. In either case, I need to revise this theory again so I am absolutely confident about it.

Roger also prompted me to lean the mixture at this height, something that I’d only ever done a couple of time before (when he was instructing me a couple of months earlier).

Procedure Turn

Having tracked outbound successfully (albeit at the wrong altitude), Roger then asked me to turn back to the beacon. We had completely different ideas of what was being asked for here. I still had it in my mind that I needed to do a “teardrop” turn, similar to entering a hold, where you turn through about 315 degrees and then make a 45 degree intercept with the reciprocal heading. What Roger actually wanted was a 45 degree turn away, fly for a minute, then 180 degree rate 1 turn and fly back to intercept.

So naturally he was surprised to see such a completely different set of tracking and stepped in to set the heading bug and give clear instructions of the headings and turns to make.

Tracking back to the beacon

We then headed back to the airfield for the NDB to ILS approach procedure. On my previous flight, I’d completely got this wrong so had just re-read up on the difference between homing (bad) and tracking (good) towards a beacon. So I found it amusing to be asked to home to the beacon (when of course we should be tracking to it). Helpfully, tracking towards it at 120 would allow us to be within the required +/- 30 degree reciprocal bearing, so we could then depart directly onto the correct outbound track.

This worked well, and I saw the ADF rotate as we passed overhead with the DME confirming our proximity. Radioed that we were Lima Alpha beacon outbound and that QFE was set (which is now was), and we were cleared for the NDB/ILS approach.

ILS Approach

The tracking outbound went OK and I performed the cockpit checks. Being unused to leaning the mixture, I overlooked that it was still leaned (despite saying the mnemonic) and had to have this pointed out to me. Turned onto North at the 8 mile mark on the DME and planned to stay on that heading for about 15 seconds before turning onto the intercept course and ensure I wasn’t turning too tightly. This wasn’t what Roger had expected, but when I explained how and why another instructor had taught me this, he was happy with that technique.

At this point I should have switched the DME to the ILS frequency (it was still on the TACAN which is located about 1 mile further in), but overlooked it.

Turning to intercept the ILS, it was helpful to have practised this on the simulator. I could see the ADF turning and that gave me more confidence that I hadn’t overshot and when to expect it to register. On earlier approaches during my training, I had completely overlooked how helpful the ADF is for situational awareness as you approach the localiser and would let you know if you had overshot or would completely undershoot. As the localiser started to move, I turned onto the approach track and was relieved to see we were still below the glideslope at the correct height. It should have been easy to follow the ILS down from that point, but for some reason I didn’t track it particularly well. I was flying a little fast,  and while Roger was encouraging me to concentrate on getting the glideslope right I flew off to the side beyond the 1/2 scale deflection that is the test standard. I did recover though and had the crosshairs pretty much on centre as we descended to Decision Height, at which point the foggles came off and the runway was clearly visible.

Low level circuit

With other traffic around, we made a right hand circle to land. This time I checked the plate when asked for the minimum circling height, so answered with the correct 410 feet. Slowed down and put in 2 stages of flaps. We had to extend our downwind leg due to other traffic landing. By the time I turned base I was back up to about 1000 feet, which wouldn’t be right for a low level circuit, and had to descend more steeply for a landing.

Debrief

So where are we now. Having completed around 18 hours of IMC training, Roger thought that I would still need another hour or two before resitting the test. While my basic IMC flying on instruments is adequate – I can do straight and level, climbing/descending, turns, recoveries, partial panel etc OK – I need further practice to reach the standard required for ADF tracking and ILS approaches. He recommended a minimum of 1 hour, perhaps more.

My last flight at Lyneham

With the future of the club still very much in flux and flying at Lyneham now restricted to weekdays for the few weeks left there, it’s now very unlikely that I’ll fly again from the base. I’ve enjoyed having access to the tremendous facilities available there. The high quality of instruction, wide range of instrument approaches and discipline of using a full ATC has developed my flying skills considerably. To be able to do so alongside other club members and with some light supervision from instructors has made for a sensible next step after basic PPL training. The low club prices have also allowed me to enjoy many more hours than would be affordable at a regular flying school.

So what’s next for my IMC training?

With the continuing uncertainty over the club’s operations in the coming weeks as it moves to a new base, and having been unable to arrange IMC instruction at weekends, I think it’s most likely I’ll have to finish the course off at a commercial flying school. It would seem a waste to have got so far and not complete the rating. Trying to put in a full day’s work followed by an hour’s drive to the airfield and learning a complex new flying skill has been very demanding. Switching between three different instructors (all extremely good but with slightly different techniques) has also had an impact. For me it really would make more sense to do this at weekends.

This will mean finding and getting to know yet another instructor, learning the local approach procedures at another airfield and satisfying a different examiner that I’m up to scratch. In the long run, perhaps that might be a good thing – it will ensure I am at a higher standard before being let loose on an IMC conditions for real. Roger accepted that course of action and signed off the theory test which I’d passed in April on the application form. My logbook already has the course completion signed off by another instructor, so this should be acceptable at any other flying school. Roger also pointed out that my IMC training records would also be made available for use elsewhere.

So it was with a heavy heart that I left Lyneham for the last time. With so many having worked there for much longer than the 6 months I’ve been using it, I am certainly not the only one who will miss it.