QXC Report

A little late I know for this report, however last night I managed to celebrate with the usual copius amounts of beer thereby rendering myself unable to operate a computer. Anyway.. on with my report.

The night before (Saturday), I spent a couple of hours planning the routes and completing the elements of the plog that I could, collecting as many frequencies of airports/airspaces as necessary and working out the track direction and distances. All that remained was to calculate true and magnetic headings, true airspeed and times, all of which is dependent on the weather. I also kept an eye on the 18-hour TAFs and every weather forecast I could get my hands on, in general the forecast sounded ok, with good visibility and a cloud base around 3000AMSL.

I tried to sleep but the route kept running through my head, I was thinking of all the things I would need to do at various points. I was feeling typical excitement just like as a kid waiting for Christmas day. I did eventually fall asleep, but my aim of getting a ‘good nights sleep’ was not entirely fulfilled.

My alarm woke me at 7am, I immediately rose to go check the weather. All looked good and was pretty much as forecast, some mist and low cloud was showing over to the west of the country but was expected to lift by midday. Winds are light and variable therefore I chose to fly magnetic headings and adjust as necessary on route if the wind becomes a factor. I drink a lot of coffee whilst completing the planning.

At 8:30am I arrive at Blackbushe and hang around a while waiting for Antonio to return from an early lesson he has. Whilst waiting I keep mentally flying the route. He returns and we go brief, mainly on the RT I will need to do at various points. The route crosses two areas of restricted class D airspace which will therefore require clearances to enter, this means accurate flying to maintain altitude and headings and close attention to messages from ATC that I will need to read back. I have a few nerves but I am pretty confident that I won’t screw up to badly.

I book out and set about doing the ‘A’ checks, all is good so I taxi over to the pumps and get a full tank of fuel. Then I am set.

Antonio wishes me best of luck and instructs me not to lose him his license (I am flying on his license therefore any screw-ups such as airspace transgressions could raise problems for him).

I depart, the moment I open the throttle on the runway as is usual all nerves disappear to be replaced with concentration on the task ahead. I climb overhead Blackbushe and request Flight Information Service from Farnborough which is quickly received. Turn on to the correct heading for my first waypoint and start the stopwatch.

The conditions are fairly smooth, not requiring much input from me to remain wings level and once trimmed LIMA SIERRA maintains 3000MSL on her own. Visibility is also good, about 20km at least which makes the navigation easy. I arrive overhead the first waypoint on time, which is always satisfying when the flight goes according to plan. Farnborough tell me to freecall Bournemouth approach, so I tune in the ATIS for Bournemouth. At this point I had begun descending to 2000AMSL to make sure I stayed out of the Southampton CTA which begins at 2500AMSL up to 6000AMSL, this caused a small problem in that the ATIS message was badly distorted and unreadable. I checked my track was outside the controlled zone then once satisfied climbed back to 3000AMSL to get a better reception. As I climbed the broadcast became clearer and I noted the information.

I contacted Bournemouth approach and gave my present position and ETA to Stoney Cross (a visual reporting point outside of their airspace), they gave me Flight Information Service and told me to report at Stoney Cross. I read back correctly which gave me more confidence in my RT.

I descended back down to 2000AMSL and continued towards Stoney Cross, the air was now a lot bumpier and visibility had dropped a bit but I kept checking map to ground to ensure I stayed on course. Once overhead Stoney Cross I reported as such and was told to contact Tower, which I didn’t expect as I was expecting clearance to enter their CTA before then. However I contacted Bournemouth Tower and they said “GOLF LIMA SIERRA, cleared to enter right base for runway 25 number two behind the Duchess.”, I was then a little unsure whether I was cleared into the zone so I replied “GOLF LIMA SIERRA, confirm cleared to enter your zone?”. The lady then read out clearance instructions which I read back, all was good and I now felt happy to proceed.

I entered the zone at 1500AMSL and soon had Bournemouth in sight so entered right base, I reported as such and then was told that I am now number one to land and the Duchess is number two. Fantastic I now have a fast airplane bearing down on me, oh well I put it out my mind and turn final.

I have to say by final approach was possible the best I have ever done, I carefully played with the power to maintain the glide-slope down to the threshold flare and touchdown gently on the centreline just after the numbers. That landing I was very pleased with. I cleared the runway and then followed the instructions given by Bournemouth Ground to go to Bournemouth handling. As I taxi into the handling area a couple of children are watching from beyond a fence taking pictures, so I give them a wave and continue in to the parking area, a guy directs me where to park with gestures I remembered from the Air Law study.

I shut down and realise that’s the first leg done! I get a cup of coffee here along with a signature from the nice guy at Bournemouth handling after he checked with the tower that they were happy I didn’t screw anything up. I phone back to Blackbushe just to let them know everything is ok and speak to John, he has been looking at the TAFs at Gloucestershire airport and they are now showing few cloud at 1500AMSL. That in itself is not a problem, I can avoid low clouds unless they start becoming more than just a few.

After watching a 737 arrive I depart again. The next leg is the longest on the QXC and the most challenging; however the success of the first leg has given me confidence.

I depart North and am told by Bournemouth Radar that I have multiple contacts showing on radar on a reciprocal heading at the same altitude, so I climb a couple of hundred feet and decide to turn on my landing light for a short time to make myself as visible as possible. I never see the traffic and don’t have any nasty collisions so I change back to Farnborough Radar and switch off my landing light.

The navigation goes to plan however I find that I have to descend below 3000AMSL my planned altitude due to lowering cloud the further North I fly. Whilst flying near Newbury I see a movement and see a large bird flying ahead, it passes directly over the canopy within 20 feet in a flash. Whoa, would have ruined the day had I been flying a touch higher as no-way could I have reacted to it in the time since first seeing it till it hit me. This is one reason I prefer flying higher than 2500AMSL, less birds.

I reach the next waypoint according to plan, however the visibility now is poor, a lot of low cloud is around with a base of 2000AMSL and the haze towards the west limits visibility to approximately 6km. I circle once to check all directions, to the East the visibility is much better with less cloud, with that in mind I decide to continue West knowing that if it gets any worse I can turn a 180 and return to Blackbushe early. Although this would effectively fail the QXC it is simply not worth taking risks for.

I contact Brize Radar and request clearance through their zone via Lechlade, they tell me to contact Brize Zone, which I do and am cleared to enter the zone remaining VMC, I am given a squawk code and set that into the transponder. Other aircraft are reported in the area and I am informed another aircraft is heading towards me from the South West, I look out my left window but don’t see it. After a short time, the controller asks me to check my transponder, I realise that although I entered the squawk I didn’t switch it from standby to alt. Doh! I got distracted by the warnings of aircraft nearby.
Navigation now becomes more important because I am flying low with poor visibility so I check the map constantly to make sure I am on course. After awhile I glance to the left and see a converging aircraft, he has already seen me and is diving to pass underneath me. We pass fairly close, and this reminds me why keeping a good look out is important.

Flying through the controlled zone I have to alter headings a few times to avoid low cumulus clouds floating around, however the visibility doesn’t get any worse and I know my position so it is safe to continue. I exit the zone and contact Gloucestershire.

I am really enjoying this flight.. the low clouds look pretty incredible floating past the wings and the terrain is interesting with hills and streams passing below. I cross a range of hills and see Gloucester appearing ahead along with the airport shortly afterwards. I am cleared to enter their ATZ and to descend on the deadside for runway 27. I arrive overhead the airfield at circuit height of 1500AMSL and do a standard overhead join. The circuit goes smoothly and after clearance to land I carry out another good landing.

I book in and gain another signature from a very nice lady at Gloucestershire, so go get a coke at a nearby pub. I had hoped to get something to eat here but the cloud overhead looks ominous and I figure I should set off soon to avoid getting stranded here. I sit in the pub garden which is surprisingly busy, some people are watching aircraft land with binoculars and notebooks, I notice them looking at me whilst I have my chart and kneeboard out checking my route back to Blackbushe. I don’t stay long, then return to book-out. This is done so I check the ATIS which is giving 20km visibility and few at 1500ft, hmm 20km is far from accurate!

I take off again and climb straight out, avoiding a large steep hill, once past the hill I turn towards the final leg. My altitude now is 1500AMSL and I am just below the cloud. I pass overhead the range of hills and have to divert a bit to avoid an aerial on one of the hills. It passes to the left of the wing.

I have to admit at this point I was concerned, I knew the weather ahead was improved but right here was not good, I was having to fly very low to stay VMC and this makes navigation harder. Once again I decide to carry on for a short while, if no improvement then I will divert to another airport, Kemble looks likely as I doubt I can return to Gloucestershire. I am cleared to enter the Brize zone again and fly through, the cloud base has lifted here to 2000AMSL although I still have to skirt around some lower clouds. Fine moisture appears on the canopy as I am flying just below the cloud base, I use carb heat a lot.

Despite the less than ideal conditions I am feeling elated, I have almost done it! Also the challenging environment gives me a sense of adventure.

My planned route had taken me well above two restricted areas on the return leg, however the cloud prevented me from flying that high so I had to skirt around both checking the map and making absolutely certain I didn’t infringe.

1 hour later I arrive back at Blackbushe, rejoin the circuit and carry out my worst landing of the day.. a good landing but a little firmer than the last two. I taxi back and switch off. Once I exit the aircraft I realise how tired I feel, I have been flying for around 3 hours today and covered around 300nm. The whole experience was fun and I simply loved it, the freedom of flight, the challenge of the RT and navigation and the dramatic environment.

Walking back I spot Antonio with another student, he is about to set off on a lesson so he shakes my hand and congratulates me then asks about the trip. I tell him I will wait around at Blackbushe until he returns from the lesson, then we can debrief.

I wait around and the whole time today events are running through my mind, it is almost unbelievable to me that I have just done it, today really showed me how much I have learnt since starting out in May. The smile was firmly on my face and the sense of satisfaction is enormous, this beats the first solo in my mind.

Antonio returned and we had a little time to debrief. I tell him the story of the flight, and they mention while I was gone they had checked the TAFs along with the forecast and had noticed the conditions were worse than expected. To be honest had those conditions been forecast I would likely not have flown the QXC today. Antonio asked me if I managed to get the registration of the bird near Newbury so I can file an Airprox report. In telling him about the flight I mentioned that whilst near the Southampton zone ATC contacted me and told me to leave the zone immediately as I had stopped traffic at Southampton airport. This was of course a joke and he didn’t buy it.

Anyway, next now is the final skill test, he is going to arrange it with an Examiner he knows is a good one, apparently he is very personable but firm and will not let me get away with anything on the test. This makes me feel good about the test, I am not in this to just get my license, I am in this to be a skilled pilot and a safe pilot. If I fail the test because the examiner is hard, then that’s a positive thing, it shows me what I have to do to achieve that goal.

I will continue to fly probably once a week whilst I complete the remaining exams, at least one solo to complete the PPL requirement for 10 hours solo flight (I have 9 hours). Then aim to take the skill test in approximately three or four weeks time.

Anyway, apologies for the long report, this is as much for me to remember the events of today.