Lesson 19, PFL's and IMC
Todays lesson marks the longest I have gone without flying since I began training, therefore I was desperately keen to get back in the air. The weather today is warm but with many layers of cumulus cloud overhead with scattered showers and a light wind. The weather was not ideal for solo circuits today therefore we decided to leave the circuit and go do some duel practice forced landings.
I first had a long briefing discussing all the symptoms and causes of engine failure, such as fuel starvation or ignition failure. All of these I had discussed before but this time was in much more detail. We briefed on the procedure; to establish best glide speed and look for a suitable landing area before trying to restart the engine and carrying out the appropriate steps. Then making a mayday call and finally securing the aircraft such as turning off fuel, electrics, ignition before landing. Alot of steps to remember but I have been assured that I will practice all aspects of forced landings many many times until it becomes automatic.
It started showering outside so I waited around awhile while Antonio went to grab a sandwich, as soon as it stopped I went out and pre-flighted the Katana. Antonio caught up with me as I finished the checks so I took off and headed towards a countryside area favoured for practice landings.
Once in the air a smile soon developed. The weather was simply amazing, we were flying at around 2500AMSL and passing overhead small occasional cumulus formations along with more cloud above. Through breaks in the clouds the sun streamed through highlighting all the little rain showers coming from individual clouds. We avoided much of the rain but occasionally flew into some just for the fun of it. Before long we reached our intended practice area, it is a very beautiful area, miles of fields, wooded areas and hills with the occasional ponds and streams. (The area I am talking about is South of Newbury). It is days like today that are probably the best for flying and you truly get an appreciation for the beauty of nature and the weather. At one time we passed close to two other aircraft flying in formation, one was a PA28 the other we were not sure about. Farnborough radar kept us informed the entire flight of nearby traffic avoiding getting uncomfortably close.
Antonio pulled the power suddenly and immediately I began the procedures discussed earlier. This was going to take a bit of practice as in my first effort I forgot to pick out a suitable landing area. On the second attempt it was much better, everything was good and we went through the entire process, initiating a recovery before the wheels touched the ground. We had plenty of space in which to practice and stayed clear of any built-up areas (farm houses) and power cables. We continued to do PFL's for the next hour, each time Antonio would catch me out by asking to climb to 3000ft then pulling the power just after establishing the climb, he would also pull the power while banking onto a given heading. All of this was excellent practice! Most instructors will prevent the aircraft getting below two or three hundred feet above the ground however Antonio's opinion was that that was not real enough. I couldn't agree more, completing the PFL to the point of no doubt about making a successful landing was highly valuable and really reinforced my confidence in the aircraft. Also was a lot of fun buzzing corn fields to within a few feet, before climbing away.
The PFL's went very well, I need to work on them more to become totally automatic with the procedures and no doubt I will get alot more practice to nail the lesson 100%. Antonio suggested we try something new, IMC flight. Now I have been looking forward to this, just to experience it. Antonio is IFR rated and therefore it was no problem to fly into some cloud. The cloud was actually pretty thin in most parts so Antonio restricted my view to just the instruments then gave me instructions to follow such as heading changes, altitude changes and both at the same time. I have had alot of practice doing this on Flight Sim 2004, where the instruments are the primary focus rather than the view outside the aircraft, this practice paid off and I felt at home doing this. Antonio expressed his satisfaction.
Finally to cap off the lesson I did some navigation using a map and trying to establish our position (all the flying with restricted view had totally thrown my ideas about our position) then to head back to Blackbushe. At first I incorrectly guessed that a town to our left hand side was Newbury but soon established that it was in fact Reading by looking at the motorway and nearby lakes, I then estimated the correct course to Blackbushe from here. After ten or fifteen minutes maintaining this course, Blackbushe appeared in our 12 o'clock position (directly ahead). Blackbushe Information informed us the circuit was presently unoccupied therefore we requested a glide approach. I flew directly over the runway at 2000 AGL and Antonio cut the power, I did the PFL checks then banked around to the left at best glide and eventually lined up the runway, we were a little high so set full flap and landed softly about a third way in to the runway. I did one more circuit to practice another full flap landing which was not so good (I seem to have lost the technique on full flap landings, so need to regain this!).
So concludes a long and productive lesson, I am still smiling now as I gotta tell ya I enjoyed every moment! I am flying again tomorrow this time for solo circuits if the weather holds out (it is forecast to improve).
I first had a long briefing discussing all the symptoms and causes of engine failure, such as fuel starvation or ignition failure. All of these I had discussed before but this time was in much more detail. We briefed on the procedure; to establish best glide speed and look for a suitable landing area before trying to restart the engine and carrying out the appropriate steps. Then making a mayday call and finally securing the aircraft such as turning off fuel, electrics, ignition before landing. Alot of steps to remember but I have been assured that I will practice all aspects of forced landings many many times until it becomes automatic.
It started showering outside so I waited around awhile while Antonio went to grab a sandwich, as soon as it stopped I went out and pre-flighted the Katana. Antonio caught up with me as I finished the checks so I took off and headed towards a countryside area favoured for practice landings.
Once in the air a smile soon developed. The weather was simply amazing, we were flying at around 2500AMSL and passing overhead small occasional cumulus formations along with more cloud above. Through breaks in the clouds the sun streamed through highlighting all the little rain showers coming from individual clouds. We avoided much of the rain but occasionally flew into some just for the fun of it. Before long we reached our intended practice area, it is a very beautiful area, miles of fields, wooded areas and hills with the occasional ponds and streams. (The area I am talking about is South of Newbury). It is days like today that are probably the best for flying and you truly get an appreciation for the beauty of nature and the weather. At one time we passed close to two other aircraft flying in formation, one was a PA28 the other we were not sure about. Farnborough radar kept us informed the entire flight of nearby traffic avoiding getting uncomfortably close.
Antonio pulled the power suddenly and immediately I began the procedures discussed earlier. This was going to take a bit of practice as in my first effort I forgot to pick out a suitable landing area. On the second attempt it was much better, everything was good and we went through the entire process, initiating a recovery before the wheels touched the ground. We had plenty of space in which to practice and stayed clear of any built-up areas (farm houses) and power cables. We continued to do PFL's for the next hour, each time Antonio would catch me out by asking to climb to 3000ft then pulling the power just after establishing the climb, he would also pull the power while banking onto a given heading. All of this was excellent practice! Most instructors will prevent the aircraft getting below two or three hundred feet above the ground however Antonio's opinion was that that was not real enough. I couldn't agree more, completing the PFL to the point of no doubt about making a successful landing was highly valuable and really reinforced my confidence in the aircraft. Also was a lot of fun buzzing corn fields to within a few feet, before climbing away.
The PFL's went very well, I need to work on them more to become totally automatic with the procedures and no doubt I will get alot more practice to nail the lesson 100%. Antonio suggested we try something new, IMC flight. Now I have been looking forward to this, just to experience it. Antonio is IFR rated and therefore it was no problem to fly into some cloud. The cloud was actually pretty thin in most parts so Antonio restricted my view to just the instruments then gave me instructions to follow such as heading changes, altitude changes and both at the same time. I have had alot of practice doing this on Flight Sim 2004, where the instruments are the primary focus rather than the view outside the aircraft, this practice paid off and I felt at home doing this. Antonio expressed his satisfaction.
Finally to cap off the lesson I did some navigation using a map and trying to establish our position (all the flying with restricted view had totally thrown my ideas about our position) then to head back to Blackbushe. At first I incorrectly guessed that a town to our left hand side was Newbury but soon established that it was in fact Reading by looking at the motorway and nearby lakes, I then estimated the correct course to Blackbushe from here. After ten or fifteen minutes maintaining this course, Blackbushe appeared in our 12 o'clock position (directly ahead). Blackbushe Information informed us the circuit was presently unoccupied therefore we requested a glide approach. I flew directly over the runway at 2000 AGL and Antonio cut the power, I did the PFL checks then banked around to the left at best glide and eventually lined up the runway, we were a little high so set full flap and landed softly about a third way in to the runway. I did one more circuit to practice another full flap landing which was not so good (I seem to have lost the technique on full flap landings, so need to regain this!).
So concludes a long and productive lesson, I am still smiling now as I gotta tell ya I enjoyed every moment! I am flying again tomorrow this time for solo circuits if the weather holds out (it is forecast to improve).
posted by Chris @ Saturday, July 30, 2005
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