Simon takes to the air - The journey begins...

Questions about training in general, syllabus', requirements etc
User avatar
slysi
Pilot in Command
Pilot in Command
Posts: 810
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2005 4:48 pm
Location: Roodepoort, Gauteng

Re: Simon takes to the air - The journey begins...

Postby slysi » Tue Jan 21, 2014 4:20 pm

Had a nice morning on Saturday, very hot but not so bumpy in the air. Did some more climbing and descending then level turns, climbing turns and descending turns. The feet are starting to work 8) Completed a whole bunch of theory as well!

A nice 1.0 hrs logged. Total as at Saturday 5.7 hrs....

AND then I bought an aerie :shock: , knew I should have got into the car as soon as I parked the aerie ##

Flew again on Monday morning. Went through a whole lot of theory with Juan about stalls and then to the aerie we go. I need to hammer those checklists into my head ## Well anyway, awesome flying weather again as we climbed out to 7000 ft. We practiced some stalls and I must say not much to worry about, the Safari is so docile that you can hardly feel the stall and it is easy to recover without losing too much height.

Did some more turns and then try to fly back to the airfield and line up to the runway, could do that but far too high :( Still another awesome morning in the sky vhpy

0.8 hrs logged. Total as at Monday 6.5 hrs....

AND then I paid the deposit for my aerie (**) :roll:

Tomorrow afternoon.......CIRCUITS! Stefan assured me I am going to get tired of them.
Simon
Student Pilot
User avatar
KFA
Toooooo Thousand
Toooooo Thousand
Posts: 2789
Joined: Mon Jun 19, 2006 8:09 pm
Location: Now at Petit (FARA)
Contact:

Re: Simon takes to the air - The journey begins...

Postby KFA » Tue Jan 21, 2014 4:56 pm

Awesome Simon, finally someone that give a nice story account of their training. You should write for the MISASA mag. (^^)
Luck-The moment when preparation meets opportunity.
"Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right." -Henry Ford
"Opportunity Is Missed By Most Because It Is Dressed in Overalls and Looks Like Work." - Thomas Alva Edison
BUSHPILOTS FLY TAILDRAGGERS
Failure is not the opposite of success, it is the stepping stone for success
User avatar
slysi
Pilot in Command
Pilot in Command
Posts: 810
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2005 4:48 pm
Location: Roodepoort, Gauteng

Re: Simon takes to the air - The journey begins...

Postby slysi » Wed Jan 22, 2014 8:19 am

Thanks Stefan! See you later.
Simon
Student Pilot
User avatar
slysi
Pilot in Command
Pilot in Command
Posts: 810
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2005 4:48 pm
Location: Roodepoort, Gauteng

Re: Simon takes to the air - The journey begins...

Postby slysi » Thu Jan 23, 2014 9:10 am

Boo hoo :(. No training yesterday...weather not playing along. Let's hope tomorrow's weather plays along. I might get withdrawal symptoms ;)
User avatar
slysi
Pilot in Command
Pilot in Command
Posts: 810
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2005 4:48 pm
Location: Roodepoort, Gauteng

Re: Simon takes to the air - The journey begins...

Postby slysi » Fri Jan 24, 2014 5:00 pm

EK HET AMPER MIELIES GEPLOEG (**)

Arrived bright and early at Petit Hangar number 1 this morning. I was looking forward to todays session after weather ruled out any flying on Wednesday afternoon. The usual morning routine which started with Juan taking me through some theory which was circuits, take offs and landings. Pre flighted FSE and then it was time to fly....

Now lets step back a little....When I started flying around three weeks ago the usual worries made me nervous....can I keep her in the sky? How do I handle the bumps? How do I turn, climb, descend, etc? If I stall will I fall out the sky? What about spiral dives? The fear of taking off and landing was also there but I knew I had a little time before I would attempt this in the training 8) I had never flown an aerie before so it took some getting used to but I am certainly getting the hang of flying straight and level, turning, climbing, descending. It was relatively easy to recover from a spiral dive and a stall. I can sorta maintain altitude and airspeed.... **

I have studied accounting/business extensively over the years so I am used to diving into books and learning, trouble is I tend to go in for overkill when reading up on a topic. I bought Jim Davis PPL handbook, downloaded a couple of books from the FAA web site and commenced my process of knowledge building..... :roll: Alternating between the various books I am slowly learning all the theory BUT it sometimes seems so easy when reading when in reality it is not always so. I don't think anyone can explain how busy a cockpit gets during circuits.....radio calls, checks, airspeed, power control, climbing, turning, descending, radio calls, checks, radio calls, checks, radio calls, checks..... :?

Anyway back to this morning. Climbed into FSE with Juan and performed all the pre-start checks, clear, start. Some more checks, radio call..."Petit Traffic, Foxtrot Sierra Echo commencing taxi to 03 from Hangar 1". What I said in the reality was probably "ermm, ermm, Foxtrot Sierra Echo, ermm, ermm, Hangar one to 03, ermm, ermm" :oops: So an upfront apology to all pilots in and around Petit, if you hear a confused voice is it probably me.

Taxi to the holding point was uneventful and came to a full stop at the holding point. Pre-take off checks, power check, magnetos, carb ice, etc...another jumbled radio call. Look at approach for aircraft, all clear, line up on the centre of runway 03. At this point my heart was pumping as I thought Juan was going to ask me to attempt the take off. I felt a great sense of relief when he said "I have control"....

So we commenced the take off roll, tail up, rotate and climb out. Juan took me through the first circuit, touch and go, climbing out then came the words...."you have control" :!: Now I am not too worried about the climb out and climbing turn into the crosswind leg BUT now I had to make the radio call, go through the checks, maintain airspeed, make sure we are still climbing, keeping the ball in the middle, etc, etc, etc. My mind was a buzz with Juan filling in the gaps where I had forgotten to do something. The rest of the circuit was a blur of all of the aforementioned....turned onto the base leg and time for the decent...now I get really nervous, is he really going to let me land this thing? My eyes were all over the place, instruments, outside. I must remember control airspeed with the elevator and rate of descent with power....keep at 65 mph...

Right, turn onto finals...radio call, checks....how the hell am I supposed to watch the ASI and VSI as well....I can feel myself tensing up....getting closer the threshold, height ok, a bit more power, controlling descent....threshold, cut power, ease back on the stick (by this time my instruments meant nothing), keep flying her, ease back and touch down. In a blink of an eye apply power, right rudder, right rudder, right rudder....take your bloody feet off the right rudder Simon. I had seemed to forget that to correct this I should apply left rudder....I see long grass approaching...sh!t....Juan stays cool and takes over. I am glad Stefan was not there to see me try and use his beloved aerie as a ploughing machine :oops:

Lesson learnt...RELAX but most of all things can go tits up rather quickly....

Did a few more circuits, steadily getting better but was relieved when we called a full stop landing vhpy I now fully understand why I am going to do lots and lots of circuits, sure it is important to know all the basics, but if you can't take off you can't fly and if you can't land then well, we all know what the outcome is.

I learned a hell of a lot today and was quietly satisfied....

1.0 hours logged, 7.5 hours in total. Next session on Tuesday. Over and out 8)
Simon
Student Pilot
User avatar
slysi
Pilot in Command
Pilot in Command
Posts: 810
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2005 4:48 pm
Location: Roodepoort, Gauteng

Re: Simon takes to the air - The journey begins...

Postby slysi » Tue Jan 28, 2014 10:22 am

THE IMPORTANCE OF CHECKS

Arrived at Petit this morning for my scheduled lesson. Quite a bit of cloud around but not too low so all clear for flight. Discussed some of the circuit procedures with Juan as well as slide slipping. Sounds like fun.

Pre flight done, start checks, radio call to commence taxi to 03, uneventful taxi to holding point. Power checks, etc. Radio call to line up on 03. Lined up, checks, radio call to commence take off roll. Power applied, Juan checks that I have indeed applied full power......take off aborted. Vacate runway.

I learned an important lesson here, check your revs, temps, etc during the take off roll. I did not but Juan noticed that the revs were not climbing sufficiently so he aborted take off. This just highlights the need for continual checks, I could have taken off with insufficient power which would necessitate a forced landing. Not a good situation to be in. Also if there is any doubt do not take off, rather return to the hangar in one piece. You can always fly another day.

So whilst I did not get to fly, I am happy with the lesson learned. To all student pilots, checks, checks and more checks. You may think to yourself why but read above and you will understand why!

At least I got some practice on taxiing and radio calls ;)

0.3 hours logged, 7.8 hours total logged.

I am hoping that the weather holds out for Thursday but it is not looking good. The joys of aviation after all :)
User avatar
slysi
Pilot in Command
Pilot in Command
Posts: 810
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2005 4:48 pm
Location: Roodepoort, Gauteng

Re: Simon takes to the air - The journey begins...

Postby slysi » Thu Jan 30, 2014 9:49 am

No flying today, wx :(

At least we finished the theory today so from now on we can fly, fly, fly :)
User avatar
Dish
Toooooo Thousand
Toooooo Thousand
Posts: 2261
Joined: Tue May 08, 2007 10:02 pm
Location: Johannesburg / North Riding / Panorama

Re: Simon takes to the air - The journey begins...

Postby Dish » Thu Jan 30, 2014 12:22 pm

so what was the problem, why was the engine not developing the revs ??
RV9
DISH
User avatar
slysi
Pilot in Command
Pilot in Command
Posts: 810
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2005 4:48 pm
Location: Roodepoort, Gauteng

Re: Simon takes to the air - The journey begins...

Postby slysi » Thu Jan 30, 2014 3:26 pm

Ooooops, forgot to ask as I left before the problem was sorted (**) :oops:
Simon
Student Pilot
User avatar
slysi
Pilot in Command
Pilot in Command
Posts: 810
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2005 4:48 pm
Location: Roodepoort, Gauteng

Re: Simon takes to the air - The journey begins...

Postby slysi » Fri Jan 31, 2014 10:14 am

Have not flown in a week and wx not looking good for tomorrow :( Starting to get withdrawal symptoms :cry:
Simon
Student Pilot
User avatar
slysi
Pilot in Command
Pilot in Command
Posts: 810
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2005 4:48 pm
Location: Roodepoort, Gauteng

Re: Simon takes to the air - The journey begins...

Postby slysi » Sat Feb 01, 2014 7:33 pm

Weather 3, Simon 0. :(
User avatar
slysi
Pilot in Command
Pilot in Command
Posts: 810
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2005 4:48 pm
Location: Roodepoort, Gauteng

Re: Simon takes to the air - The journey begins...

Postby slysi » Mon Feb 03, 2014 11:54 am

Seeing as though I can't fly at the moment and the weather for the rest of the week is looking k@k :( I was thinking of studying for my restricted radio license. Where can I get some study material for this or is the information in the Jim Davis PPL book sufficient?
Simon
Student Pilot
User avatar
KFA
Toooooo Thousand
Toooooo Thousand
Posts: 2789
Joined: Mon Jun 19, 2006 8:09 pm
Location: Now at Petit (FARA)
Contact:

Re: Simon takes to the air - The journey begins...

Postby KFA » Mon Feb 03, 2014 12:38 pm

I have a books here.
Luck-The moment when preparation meets opportunity.
"Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right." -Henry Ford
"Opportunity Is Missed By Most Because It Is Dressed in Overalls and Looks Like Work." - Thomas Alva Edison
BUSHPILOTS FLY TAILDRAGGERS
Failure is not the opposite of success, it is the stepping stone for success
User avatar
slysi
Pilot in Command
Pilot in Command
Posts: 810
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2005 4:48 pm
Location: Roodepoort, Gauteng

Re: Simon takes to the air - The journey begins...

Postby slysi » Tue Feb 04, 2014 9:48 am

Getting a bit frustrated with this weather now

:evil: ,,,,
Simon
Student Pilot
User avatar
slysi
Pilot in Command
Pilot in Command
Posts: 810
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2005 4:48 pm
Location: Roodepoort, Gauteng

Re: Simon takes to the air - The journey begins...

Postby slysi » Thu Feb 06, 2014 5:34 pm

FRUSTRATION (**)

I woke up this morning with the weather not looking to promising but after chatting with Juan decided to drive through to Petit anyway. It was not too bad when I got there so we could fly, finally vhpy

Firstly I got to meet Oliver (okflyer on the forum) from Germany. He is in the country for a couple of weeks. We had a great chat and was really interesting to hear him talk about flying in Germany and the differences to here in SA. He clearly loves flying and has licenses here in SA, USA and Germany! Great guy (^^) Thanks for the words of encouragement Oliver, especially after having such a frustrating morning.

Anyway, back the flight. Juan was going to show me some steep turns and side slipping, time to have some fun. We took off from 03 and climbed out to 7000ft. Firstly some side slipping which was a great deal of fun and then some steep turns. All in all I felt good in the air and managed to get the grasp of these two maneuvers without a problem. It was getting a bit hazy so we headed back to the airfield for some circuits.

This is where the sh!t began. Instead of the usual circuit from right of 03, we did the circuit left of 21. This really disorientated me. I felt myself tense up and could simply not maintain the required headings. My circuit must have resembled zig zags instead of straight lines. My frustration levels grew and we descended on the base leg and finally onto finals. My arms were tense and my feet stuck to the pedals as if they were superglued there.

We were too high, couldn't hold the wings level, the nose was all over the place so we had to do a go around. Same cr@p on the next circuit, managed to get it above the runway but Juan had to take control as couldn't keep the wings level. One more circuit and then a full stop landing. WTF was I doing :?: :? My first circuits a week or so ago were better than this morning's attempts.

We strolled back into the office and had a quick chat to Stefan who rightly said that I must have a cup of coffee to relax and get up in the air again. So after 1/2 hour Stefan got in with me and off we went again. The taking off part is getting there, need to concentrate on my feet to steer the aerie and not use the stick! The climb out and turn into crosswind were ok, turn into downwind, keeping here straight and level nicely, start base and descend, again a bit too high so Stefan pulled one of his signature side slips to get us down and performed the touch and go.

I took control again on the climb out and commenced the circuit. Started to descend nicely on the base leg and line up on finals, still playing with the stick and pedals too much instead of just keeping to right airspeed and rate of descent. I managed to get her over the threshold anyway and managed to hold the flare as she touched down, full power, pick the wheel up and off we went again. The fuel was getting low so this would be the last circuit. Again, not perfect but it was ok'ish.

I am going to take this weekend and study my circuit procedures, radio calls and checks because I think I got totally confused trying to do this and fly at the same time. Hindsight is a perfect science but at least I know what I did wrong. If you don't remember the basics then one tends to get in a panic rather quickly.....

A solid 1.7 hrs logged this morning...total logged 9.5hrs. Stefan assures me I am on par seeing as though I have not flown before ^
Simon
Student Pilot

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 18 guests