28th August.
At briefing today Kev said he wanted me to do some more circuits and straight in approaches.
My circuits just need some tidying up a bit, but my straight in approaches I've been having trouble with. Three out of four times I'm too high and have to go around.
Thinking about this now, I can remember in the sierra not having as much trouble as I'm having with the Sportstar in being too high. Could it be the Sportstar is more of a glider and it is just a case of my visual perception will adjust to suit the Sportstar.
Anyway, the circuits, landings and straight in approaches were all better today, so I'm making headway and need to keep the ball rolling.
Looking forward to the next lesson.
TT 30.5 (solo 2.4)
Friday, August 28, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Day 21 Getting nowhere
August 21st.
Between the Sportstar being out of commission for a couple of weeks and then work getting in the road again, I haven't done a lot of flying in the last couple of months.
I feel like I'm getting nowhere at the moment. But at least I'm getting some time in, so I'm not slipping further back than I have already slipped back.
We did some more circuits coupled with a short nav again, and had a bit of excitement when we landed back at Lynfield and found we didn't have any right brake. As Lynfield is a very short strip we powered on and went around again and made another powered approach but this time brought it in just a smidge slower and dropped it over the fence and kept the nose well in the air as long as possible, to give it as much drag as possible to slow it down. We didn't need the run-off area, but we used all of the strip.
T/T 28.9 (solo 2.4)
Between the Sportstar being out of commission for a couple of weeks and then work getting in the road again, I haven't done a lot of flying in the last couple of months.
I feel like I'm getting nowhere at the moment. But at least I'm getting some time in, so I'm not slipping further back than I have already slipped back.
We did some more circuits coupled with a short nav again, and had a bit of excitement when we landed back at Lynfield and found we didn't have any right brake. As Lynfield is a very short strip we powered on and went around again and made another powered approach but this time brought it in just a smidge slower and dropped it over the fence and kept the nose well in the air as long as possible, to give it as much drag as possible to slow it down. We didn't need the run-off area, but we used all of the strip.
T/T 28.9 (solo 2.4)
Day 20 Seat time
July 28th.
We did a short navex. From Lynfield to watts bridge, then onto Toowoomba and back to Lynfield. The idea of this was to mix some circuits with some navigation. In other words just give me some more seat time in the Sportstar. After which I was looking forward to some more regular time in the seat.
T/T 27.2 (solo 2.4)
We did a short navex. From Lynfield to watts bridge, then onto Toowoomba and back to Lynfield. The idea of this was to mix some circuits with some navigation. In other words just give me some more seat time in the Sportstar. After which I was looking forward to some more regular time in the seat.
T/T 27.2 (solo 2.4)
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Day 19 Into the Sportstar
July 7th.
The Tecnam Sierra has been sold so it's into the Evektor Sportstar.
But the weather wasn't too kind to us last week, so both days that I had booked in for training were cancelled. This Tuesday (July 7th) I finally got to sit my backside in the sportstar. It has a variable pitch prop and a winding throttle that I'm having trouble getting used to but I'm getting there.
We did the usual conversion things like stalls, steep turns, etc etc. Its stalls impressed me, they were almost a non event with very little height loss.
Kev wants me to do some more time in the Sportstar before he will sign me off on it, but I don't mind because I also feel I need a bit more time in it.
It's a bummer I had that break from training of nearly three months, cos I feel like I need to do quite a few more hours to catch up to where I was before the break.
Total hours so far 25.7 (2.4 solo)
The Tecnam Sierra has been sold so it's into the Evektor Sportstar.
But the weather wasn't too kind to us last week, so both days that I had booked in for training were cancelled. This Tuesday (July 7th) I finally got to sit my backside in the sportstar. It has a variable pitch prop and a winding throttle that I'm having trouble getting used to but I'm getting there.
We did the usual conversion things like stalls, steep turns, etc etc. Its stalls impressed me, they were almost a non event with very little height loss.
Kev wants me to do some more time in the Sportstar before he will sign me off on it, but I don't mind because I also feel I need a bit more time in it.
It's a bummer I had that break from training of nearly three months, cos I feel like I need to do quite a few more hours to catch up to where I was before the break.
Total hours so far 25.7 (2.4 solo)
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Day 18 Back into it again
Friday 26th June
As the title says, after nearly three months of not having the time to do anything else but work, I'm back into it again.
I was booked in for Tues the 23rd but the weather was lousy all day Monday, so I changed Tuesday's lesson to Friday.
Friday's weather wasn't the best either with scattered showers and the promise of it possibly getting worse.
The nav-ex flight plan was from Lynfield to Dalby, then onto Nanango and back to Lynfield.
We got to Dalby by dodging a few showers, and I was happy that I found Dalby without any trouble, considering visibility was not the best and I was also dodging showers. I was also happy with my take-off at Lynfield and my landing at Dalby considering I hadn't done either for just on three months.
On our run to Nanango the weather deteriorated so we did a diversion and headed back to Lynfield via Toowoomba. At Toowoomba I stuffed up the approach on final and had to go around again. My second attempt was without problem, but back home at Lynfield I did the same thing.
I can only assume I was a bit rusty.
Overall this nav-ex, because of the weather, was a good experience.
T/T 24.5 hrs (2.4 solo)
Update: Wednesday the 1st July. I sat for my BAK exam and passed. YAAAHHHOOOOO
As the title says, after nearly three months of not having the time to do anything else but work, I'm back into it again.
I was booked in for Tues the 23rd but the weather was lousy all day Monday, so I changed Tuesday's lesson to Friday.
Friday's weather wasn't the best either with scattered showers and the promise of it possibly getting worse.
The nav-ex flight plan was from Lynfield to Dalby, then onto Nanango and back to Lynfield.
We got to Dalby by dodging a few showers, and I was happy that I found Dalby without any trouble, considering visibility was not the best and I was also dodging showers. I was also happy with my take-off at Lynfield and my landing at Dalby considering I hadn't done either for just on three months.
On our run to Nanango the weather deteriorated so we did a diversion and headed back to Lynfield via Toowoomba. At Toowoomba I stuffed up the approach on final and had to go around again. My second attempt was without problem, but back home at Lynfield I did the same thing.
I can only assume I was a bit rusty.
Overall this nav-ex, because of the weather, was a good experience.
T/T 24.5 hrs (2.4 solo)
Update: Wednesday the 1st July. I sat for my BAK exam and passed. YAAAHHHOOOOO
Sunday, May 17, 2009
WW1 & WW2 re-enactment at Emu Gully.
Here are some photo's from Emu Gully. It was well done.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38018271@N05/sets/72157617659547806/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38018271@N05/sets/72157617659547806/
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Day 17 Getting better at it.
7th April 2009
Sorry to be so long getting this one up. But work has been hectic and in order to afford to go flying, first I have to get the dollars in.
The nav-ex on Tues the 7th was from Lynfield to Leyburn (over-fly) and back to Warwick. Then from Warwick back home to Lynfield.
I was determined I was going to be more prepared and try to reduce my workload while flying the nav. I did everything I thought I could do to have myself more prepared and it helped. It didn't make it easy, but it did make it a little easier.
The first leg out to Leyburn went well and was right on track on the check points, with Leyburn right on the nose when we got there. I then set a course for Warwick and it was right in front of us when we got there.
I was feeling good at this stage and felt that I had got the hang of this Navigation thing, well for short nav's anyway.
The next leg from Warwick back home is mostly mountainous tiger country. The wind had increased and was a south easterly and our track was 031*, so I set a heading for home on 135*. With not much on the ground for checks, I just had to fly by the compass and keep an eye on the watch for estimates of our position, until I could get some form of fix. Then we flew over what appeared to be the largest mountain in the range. If it was the mountain I thought it was I was a little off course, because it should have been two miles off our starboard beam. But there was some scattered clouds around covering some of the mountains, so I could not be 100% sure it was the mountain I thought it was.
I decided to take note of that and keep to the compass heading, until I could get something on the ground that I could get a better fix on. Then on the horizon about eleven o'clock I could barely make out a mountain that looked like Mt Hallan. Now if that was Mt Hallan I was off course because we should be heading straight for it. Again I decided to stick to my compass heading until I could get a better fix, or could see what looked like Mt Hallan more clearly.
As we cleared the last large mountain I could see a town with a silo on a rail line. I was relieved I could get a decent fix because I was a little uncertain about the mountain on the horizon, as it had disappeared behind clouds again. But when I checked the chart it appeared we were not where I thought we were because there was not any town in this area that had a silo.
Kevin asked me where we were and I told him I did not know. He asked me what I was going to do. I did not answer him straight away as I wanted to think about it, but then I started to recognise some things on the ground and believed we were where I thought we were. I made a course change to head for where I believed Lynfield was, but that silo still had me worried. But it wasn't long before I knew, where we were was where I thought we were. Now I could relax and stop sweating and stressing.
But the thing that had me stressing was that damn silo, and it's not on any of the charts. On top of that, because of the stress brought on by that silo, I forgot to do the ten mile inbound call and the down wind checks. And that got me into trouble.
Oh well it looks like I still need more time.
T/T 21.6 (x/c total 5.6)
Sorry to be so long getting this one up. But work has been hectic and in order to afford to go flying, first I have to get the dollars in.
The nav-ex on Tues the 7th was from Lynfield to Leyburn (over-fly) and back to Warwick. Then from Warwick back home to Lynfield.
I was determined I was going to be more prepared and try to reduce my workload while flying the nav. I did everything I thought I could do to have myself more prepared and it helped. It didn't make it easy, but it did make it a little easier.
The first leg out to Leyburn went well and was right on track on the check points, with Leyburn right on the nose when we got there. I then set a course for Warwick and it was right in front of us when we got there.
I was feeling good at this stage and felt that I had got the hang of this Navigation thing, well for short nav's anyway.
The next leg from Warwick back home is mostly mountainous tiger country. The wind had increased and was a south easterly and our track was 031*, so I set a heading for home on 135*. With not much on the ground for checks, I just had to fly by the compass and keep an eye on the watch for estimates of our position, until I could get some form of fix. Then we flew over what appeared to be the largest mountain in the range. If it was the mountain I thought it was I was a little off course, because it should have been two miles off our starboard beam. But there was some scattered clouds around covering some of the mountains, so I could not be 100% sure it was the mountain I thought it was.
I decided to take note of that and keep to the compass heading, until I could get something on the ground that I could get a better fix on. Then on the horizon about eleven o'clock I could barely make out a mountain that looked like Mt Hallan. Now if that was Mt Hallan I was off course because we should be heading straight for it. Again I decided to stick to my compass heading until I could get a better fix, or could see what looked like Mt Hallan more clearly.
As we cleared the last large mountain I could see a town with a silo on a rail line. I was relieved I could get a decent fix because I was a little uncertain about the mountain on the horizon, as it had disappeared behind clouds again. But when I checked the chart it appeared we were not where I thought we were because there was not any town in this area that had a silo.
Kevin asked me where we were and I told him I did not know. He asked me what I was going to do. I did not answer him straight away as I wanted to think about it, but then I started to recognise some things on the ground and believed we were where I thought we were. I made a course change to head for where I believed Lynfield was, but that silo still had me worried. But it wasn't long before I knew, where we were was where I thought we were. Now I could relax and stop sweating and stressing.
But the thing that had me stressing was that damn silo, and it's not on any of the charts. On top of that, because of the stress brought on by that silo, I forgot to do the ten mile inbound call and the down wind checks. And that got me into trouble.
Oh well it looks like I still need more time.
T/T 21.6 (x/c total 5.6)
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