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

[slysi]

Nice video and nice landing

What camera did you use to take the video and how did you hook it up to FSE

[okflyer]

Nice video and nice landing
What camera did you use to take the video and how did you hook it up to FSE

Action Pro. It is comparable to the gopros and uses the same mounts. I bought it two years ago and it has an integrated remote control which is very handy to switch it on and off while flying. The RC is just a little switch on a clip which can be attached to the stuff you are wearing. Stefan has glued mounts for gopros under both wings. The battery lasts for 2.5 hours (if the temperature is not too low). The quality of the shots depends a lot on the available light.
Check my Alaska videos https://vimeo.com/75330104 to see how good the quality can bei when the light is right.

[slysi]

So the only flying I will be doing this week is to Nigeria

If I get back safely I will be in the air next week again

[slysi]

BOUNCE ON TAKE OFF

After a three week lay off due to traveling I managed to get back into the cockpit on Friday and Saturday. It is surprising how one gets a little rusty after a while. I managed a couple of sorties with Juan on Friday. More circuits I must say I am feeling more comfortable now, the take off's are getting there and so are the landings. I think I have said it 100 times already but I need to get my feet to work more. This is obviously key to learning the art of taildragger flying. The fun really begins when you have touched down, one needs to concentrate until you have vacated the runway and come to a full stop.

I have been told not to be too hard on myself, which I now know. I had a short sortie with Stefan on Saturday so he could review my progress. He is happy with where I am, and actually said that I can fly quite nicely. We headed out to Delmas so that he could review my "straight and level skills" and all was good. I seem to fidget too much though, giving control inputs when I really don't need to do them. I need to fly the minor bumps and trust that the aerie will reach equilibrium again, unless corrective action is needed. It was nice to fly a bit instead of doing circuits. I am certainly not knocking the importance of circuits

Not sure if I should laugh or cry about my take off with Stefan though.....We lined up on 03 and I commenced the take off roll, managing to keep FSE fairly straight, pushed stick forward to lift the tail wheel and then rotated. Now once in the air, one needs to level off slightly to build airspeed before continuing the climb out. Well...I sort of pushed the nose down and managed to bounce the take off Oh well, lesson learnt and thank goodness we have instructors sitting next to us.

2.0 hrs logged, total time 16.5 hrs.

[slysi]

I bought myself a GoPro so we hooked it up to FSE on Friday so gave it a go....(how do I get rid of the "fish eye" effect?)

Approach to runway 21 at Petit....

GOPR0410.jpg

Almost there....

GOPR0412 copy.jpg

[Bundy]

No updates Simon?

How's the training going?

Weather's been great of late!

[slysi]

No updates Simon?

How's the training going?

Weather's been great of late!

Hey Bundy, weather has indeed been great but work not so much

I will catch up this week though, have already booked a few hours so watch this space.

[slysi]

BACK IN THE AIR

So after a bit of a lay off due to work commitments I managed to squeeze a few hours in over the past couple of days. It was great to be back in the sky again, albeit a bit rusty.

When I started my journey in January I thought it would be quite easy to knock off the 35 hours needed (although I knew it would be a bit more) but as we all know, life gets in the way sometimes and our "hobbies" have to take a back seat. I started a business last year and thankfully things are going quite nicely so I had to give my clients some much needed TLC

Not that I am complaining, I am actually enjoying the pace of training at the moment, it gives me time to reflect between sorties More importantly I want to finish my license as close to my own aerie being ready as well That is perhaps a story for another day but in summary I ordered an Explorer from Stefan at SA Planes and now have upgraded to a Safari I also had a hiccup with my medical so I could not go solo anytime soon.... I have now given the CAA the Dr's confirmation that they needed so hopefully I will have my SPL soon, fingers crossed

I drove out to Petit on Wednesday morning a bit nervous as it had been three weeks since I last flew FSE. As you would have read my circuits were less than perfect and I was really struggling with the landings especially keeping to the centre line and judging the flare. Well as expected it was not too different this time but I managed a few good touch and go's towards the end of my session. Most importantly I think my confidence is growing and this is having a positive effect on my flying. I don't want to go into much more detail about the circuits as I would be use repeating myself but the main lesson I cam away with was that I was not pulling the stick straight back when flaring so my left wing would dip slightly, not ideal. I need to remember to aim for my b@lls to pull the stick straight back.

I was back at KFA this morning for another sortie, nice and early, a great time to fly. After the preflight we taxied up to 21 and commenced the take off roll. I could feel that it was going to be a good flight as the take off was quite good, managing to maintain directional stability although I need to remember to ease her up into the air and not yank the stick straight back. All in all very pleased with the take off though and this just boosted my confidence a little more.

I asked Juan if we could go to the GF to practice the various turns, it is good to break the monotony of circuits now and then. We went through medium, steep, descending and climbing turns which I was really pleased with I just need more practice on the radio calls when leaving the circuit, I am so used to "Petit traffic, Foxtrot Sierra Echo, Left downwind 21,...." in the circuit that I got totally demekaar when trying to make calls outside of the circuit, practice makes perfect though.

We headed back to Petit and had some time for some circuits and touch and go's. Again, whilst not perfect, I just felt much more comfortable on final approach which ultimately lead to better landings. So over all quite happy with the past couple of days.

Now hoping the medical finally comes through and I can work towards doing that all important first solo

Till next time, fly safe.....

2.7 hrs logged......19.2 hrs total

[slysi]

WHAT A LEKKER MORNING TO FLY

So I was hoping to have my medical by now (had to come off some of my meds in consultation with my quack) but have to wait another 6 weeks before the CAA will issue. Not to be deterred however I am pushing forward as it is just a technicality now. As I have said previously, I am not in a huge rush so no stress whatsoever. At least I have lots of time to perfect those take off's and pesky landings

I headed out to Petit this morning for my weekly dose of circuits It was rather chilly but what a lekker morning to fly. There was no wind to speak off (although a slight cross wind developed a little later) and the air was extremely smooth. You all know the drill by now......circuit, circuit, circuit......

I got some great advice from Alkemac here on the forum as I was struggling a bit to judge the flair on landing (thanks Mate ). Essentially I was focussing too much on the threshold of the runway and he advised me to focus more on the far end of the runway. This certainly helped take away that feeling of the ground rushing up on me which resulted in an early flare. I need a bit more practice but the landings were MUCH better

All in all I am very happy with this morning's sortie, the training is starting to sink into my thick skull Some of the issues I need to work on are flying the circuit in a square and not a circle (I was never good at geometry), remember to switch the carb heat off during finals and to maintain 65mph on final approach......

Til next time....

1.1 hours logged, 20.3 hours in total

[Alkemac]

[Percy Smit]

Hi Simon,

I started to read your story this morning from the beggining nogal and reflected back on my training early jan last year 2013..... I can only laugh at myself when i see your experiences, mistakes & progress and hrs building.... all i can say is .. DITTO...DITTO...DOTTO.... Don't worry you will see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Your doing fine... ENJOY.

Regards,
Percy

[slysi]

Hi Simon,

I started to read your story this morning from the beggining nogal and reflected back on my training early jan last year 2013..... I can only laugh at myself when i see your experiences, mistakes & progress and hrs building.... all i can say is .. DITTO...DITTO...DOTTO.... Don't worry you will see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Your doing fine... ENJOY.

Regards,
Percy

Thanks Percy

[Malcolm]

Hey Slysi,
Decided it’s time to take some leave to do my tailie conversion. Hope to do it the week starting 21 June. What’s happening, why so quite?
RV4 is nearing completion, paint work done and wings back on. Can’t wait!

Regards,
Malcolm.

[slysi]

Hey Slysi,
Decided it’s time to take some leave to do my tailie conversion. Hope to do it the week starting 21 June. What’s happening, why so quite?
RV4 is nearing completion, paint work done and wings back on. Can’t wait!

Regards,
Malcolm.

Howzit Malcolm!

Sadly I have to put this dream on hold for now It is very frustrating but the bottom line in that I will not get a medical clearance anytime soon, not for another reason than the meds I am taking are not allowed for aviation purposes. There is not much I can do at the moment, I have tried to come off them but the adverse effects outweighed the positives. I am hoping that in the future the CAA will change their minds but for now its a no no.

It's hard to accept as I was having so much fun and was also looking forward to owning my own aerie. I have been jealous of you since you got your first Jabi Enjoy the conversion my old friend, flying a taildragger is so much fun, need to be on your toes all the time. Would love to catch up some time.

Cheers

Simon

[okflyer]

Simon,
My thoughts are with you, mate.
Do not give up your dream. Maybe it is just a matter of time and your journey is just a little bit longer.
I had to overcome certain difficulties myself, some times the road is a little more winding than expected.
If you are ever around my place, call me and we do a nice flip together.

Cheers
Ok

Sadly I have to put this dream on hold for now It is very frustrating but the bottom line in that I will not get a medical clearance anytime soon, not for another reason than the meds I am taking are not allowed for aviation purposes. There is not much I can do at the moment, I have tried to come off them but the adverse effects outweighed the positives. I am hoping that in the future the CAA will change their minds but for now its a no no.



Simon