On Sat 23rd I really didn't feel like going flying; some days you just wake up like that. But I forced myself to go since It was a great day and I'd promised my sister & brother-in-law I would try to come down to Peterborough when the weather was good.
Quickly planned the route, cheating slightly and reusing all the headings, distances and MSAs from my previous trip down there when I injured my back (maybe even cracked a rib) doing a simulated skydive at bodyflight. Other than that did some quite accurate VOR tracking both inbound and outbound from GAM nothing really worth mentioning about the flight down. Approach to Conington was good but I bounced it once on landing and it wasn't even a crosswind :-( Got a friendly "telling off" by the admin guy there about flaring it more - not like I didn't know I ballsed it up...
Consequently I was a bit apprehensive about taking Jo and Pierre for a jolly round the local area; this landing inconsistency is pissing me off. Anyway, set off and did a nice trip round Peterborough, up to Rutland Water and back down past Spanhoe to Conington and showed them the many of the same sights as I showed my parents previously. Joined downwind for runway 28, did a decent approach and then absolutely greased the landing down short field style! :-) Inconsistency rules yet again... *sigh* I hadn't actually meant to land like that where you descend quite rapidly and do a quite abrupt flare and touch down just as the flare zeros your rate of descent; I meant to to the traditional flare and float it along and touch it down near the stall. Still, a good landing is a good landing and my confidence was back.
For the trip back again pretty good VOR tracking and a bit of practice in position fixes. Landing this time on 14 with a right crosswind instead of the usual 32 with wind from the left. Got it down quite nicely with a timely decrab and dip of the into wind aileron. I'm probably improving overall but progress is slow and I need more practice. Thought's just occurred to me - Why don't I head over to somewhere like Elvington (where the landings are cheap or even free) one day when it's a crosswind there and practice.
Now just need 2:10 P1 to be able to start the ME rating.
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About Me
- TomD
- I've taken a 6 month sabbatical from work to complete my Commercial Pilots Licence and this is a blog of how things are going.
Glossary
2 reds, 2 whites = this refers to the indication from the 4 lights of a PAPI if you're on the correct glidepath. 3/4 reds is too low and 3/4 whites is too high.
AAL = Above Aerodrome Level (usually written in lower case)
ADF = Automatic Direction Finder (the instrument used with an NDB and indicates relative bearing to the NDB)
AGL = Above Ground Level (usually written in lower case)
AI = Attitude Indicator aka Artificial Horizon
AMSL = Above Mean Sea Level (usually written in lower case)
ASI = Airspeed Indicator
ATA = Actual Time of Arrival
ATC = Air Traffic Control
ATD = Actual Time of Departure
CB = Cumulonimbus clouds
CPL = Commercial Pilot's Licence
Crab = the angling into wind to maintain a straight track on approach to land. Obviously you have to decrab so the aircraft is aligned with the runway before landing.
DI = Direction Indicator (is aligned to the compass and doesn't suffer from the same turning errors a compass does)
ETA = Estimated Time of Arrival
FREDA = Fuel, Radio, Engine, DI, Altitude (a regular check of systems performed while enroute)
GA = General Aviation
GAM = Gamston VOR/DME
GEC = Gross Error Check
IMC = Instrument Meteorological Conditions
IR = Instrument Rating
LDR = Landing Distance Required
MATZ = Military Air Traffic Zone
ME = Multi-Engine (rating)
METAR = Actual weather at an aerodrome (see here)
MSA = Minimum Safe Altitude
NDB = Non-Directional Beacon ( a simple radio beacon)
NOTAM = Notice To Airmen
OBS = Omni Bearing Selector (you use this to select the VOR radial you want to receive tracking info on - basically your heading to or from the VOR)
OTR = Ottringham VOR/DME (a bit north-west of Spurn point)
P1/PIC = Pilot In Command
PAPI = Precision Approach Path Indicator
PFL = Practice Forced Landing
PLOG = pilot log where you calculate your required track and groundspeed to take into account the wind and your ETA etc.
POB = Persons On Board
POL = Pole Hill VOR/DME
PPL = Private Pilot's Licence
PPR = Prior Permission Required
QFE = Altimeter pressure setting for height aal (dunno what it acutally stands for)
QNH = Altimeter pressure setting for height amsl (dunno what it acutally stands for)
QXC = Qualifying Cross Contry
RMI = Remote Magnetic Indicator (advanced ADF where it indicates the magnetic heading to the NDB)
Rate 1 Turn = Standard Instrument rate of turn at 180 degrees per minute (3 deg/sec)
TAF = Terminal Aerodrome Forecast
TODR = Take Off Distance Required
TS = Thunderstorm
TTT = Time Turn Talk (this is what you do when you reach a waypoint on your navigation - note the ATA, turn onto your next heading, talk to whoever to tell them where you are and where you;re going next (if required))
VOR/DME = VHF Omnidirectional Range/Distance Measuring Equipment (a kind of advanced radio beacon)
VRP = Visual Reporting Point
VSI = Vertical speed Indicator
W&B = Weight and Balance, aka M&B - Mass and Balance
Any suggestions/omissions/duplicates, please let me know.
AAL = Above Aerodrome Level (usually written in lower case)
ADF = Automatic Direction Finder (the instrument used with an NDB and indicates relative bearing to the NDB)
AGL = Above Ground Level (usually written in lower case)
AI = Attitude Indicator aka Artificial Horizon
AMSL = Above Mean Sea Level (usually written in lower case)
ASI = Airspeed Indicator
ATA = Actual Time of Arrival
ATC = Air Traffic Control
ATD = Actual Time of Departure
CB = Cumulonimbus clouds
CPL = Commercial Pilot's Licence
Crab = the angling into wind to maintain a straight track on approach to land. Obviously you have to decrab so the aircraft is aligned with the runway before landing.
DI = Direction Indicator (is aligned to the compass and doesn't suffer from the same turning errors a compass does)
ETA = Estimated Time of Arrival
FREDA = Fuel, Radio, Engine, DI, Altitude (a regular check of systems performed while enroute)
GA = General Aviation
GAM = Gamston VOR/DME
GEC = Gross Error Check
IMC = Instrument Meteorological Conditions
IR = Instrument Rating
LDR = Landing Distance Required
MATZ = Military Air Traffic Zone
ME = Multi-Engine (rating)
METAR = Actual weather at an aerodrome (see here)
MSA = Minimum Safe Altitude
NDB = Non-Directional Beacon ( a simple radio beacon)
NOTAM = Notice To Airmen
OBS = Omni Bearing Selector (you use this to select the VOR radial you want to receive tracking info on - basically your heading to or from the VOR)
OTR = Ottringham VOR/DME (a bit north-west of Spurn point)
P1/PIC = Pilot In Command
PAPI = Precision Approach Path Indicator
PFL = Practice Forced Landing
PLOG = pilot log where you calculate your required track and groundspeed to take into account the wind and your ETA etc.
POB = Persons On Board
POL = Pole Hill VOR/DME
PPL = Private Pilot's Licence
PPR = Prior Permission Required
QFE = Altimeter pressure setting for height aal (dunno what it acutally stands for)
QNH = Altimeter pressure setting for height amsl (dunno what it acutally stands for)
QXC = Qualifying Cross Contry
RMI = Remote Magnetic Indicator (advanced ADF where it indicates the magnetic heading to the NDB)
Rate 1 Turn = Standard Instrument rate of turn at 180 degrees per minute (3 deg/sec)
TAF = Terminal Aerodrome Forecast
TODR = Take Off Distance Required
TS = Thunderstorm
TTT = Time Turn Talk (this is what you do when you reach a waypoint on your navigation - note the ATA, turn onto your next heading, talk to whoever to tell them where you are and where you;re going next (if required))
VOR/DME = VHF Omnidirectional Range/Distance Measuring Equipment (a kind of advanced radio beacon)
VRP = Visual Reporting Point
VSI = Vertical speed Indicator
W&B = Weight and Balance, aka M&B - Mass and Balance
Any suggestions/omissions/duplicates, please let me know.
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