Clouds and Silver Linings

Every cloud has a silver lining, or so my Nan used to tell me.

After being defeated in my second attempt to take my SSEA skills and navigation tests by the so-called “Beast from the East 2” a couple of weeks ago, the second unseasonal North Easterly weather system to hit the UK within two weeks, I was seriously doubting the wisdom of this oft overused cliché.

However, it turns out she was right.

Again!

So regardless of missing the CAAs deadline of 22nd March to get the paperwork in for the rating to be added to my NPPL, I have still gained a lot from my experience of flying he heavier group A aircraft for the first time.

I learned the difficulties of handling a tailwheel aircraft on the ground. Not to be underestimated.

I learned a lot more about energy management in a large, heavy, draggy aircraft.

I flew into and out of 4 new airfields including farm strips (including one on a hillside) and fully ATC controlled airports, this has improved my confidence on the radio and also my understanding of operating in these different environments.

And as my instructor James kept reinforcing to me.  Flying is a vocation.  So rating or no rating, 8.1 hours in the Citabria has definitely improved my flying skills.

Oh, and I flew more in 4 days than I did in the whole of last year too.  Which as mentioned in a previous post, was tiring but very rewarding.

So, what now? Well having thought it through and discussed it with my instructor I have decided to forget the SSEA rating and continue the training to directly gain the LAPL licence.  I have 8.1 hours already so I will be aiming to complete the course in the  minimum 30 hours (plus I have to do the rest of the ground exams too).

On the one hand this may seem a lot of work/expense compared to the SSEA route, however imagine how much more experience and learning I can get in the 22 hours I will undertake? 5 of which will be solo, something I am still yet to do in the group A aircraft.  I will also get a useful refresher and learn something new doing the ground school subjects which again will help my flying.

So, expensive? Yes.

But, worth it? Ultimately yes I think it will be.

All of that is for later in the year now though. As I am now no longer up against the CAAs clock I’ve switched my focus back to Microlights for the next few months.

And here we come on to that silver lining.

Because of the confidence I have gained from flying in unfamiliar airspace, in an unfamiliar aircraft, to unfamiliar airfields, getting back in the altogether more familiar C42 or the EV-97 and flying to new airfields has been so much more fun.

Last Sunday my girlfriend and I took a C42 out from Barton for a trip to Caernarfon for the standard £150 breakfast.  Its a trip I’ve wanted to do for a while, but for many reasons, one of which was confidence, I’ve always opted for either local flights, or, with one exception, visits to aerodromes I am familiar with from my training.

I had initially planned to fly across the Liverpool CTR utilising my new found confidence on the radio, but after a chat with Chris at Mainair he suggested I fly around the top of the controlled airspace instead to avoid the possibility of getting put in a hold when transiting the zone.

I also asked him if he had any tips for flight and in his typical laid back laconic style he suggested I “keep the blue stuff to the right and the high ground to the left.”

Fair enough.

The flight down was fantastic, we got a great view of Aintree and once we had cleared Liverpool’s airspace we climbed to over 4000 feet for some great views as we overflew landmarks that I recall from childhood trips to north Wales including Llandudno pier, The Great Orme and Conwy Castle.

 

 

I could hear on the radio that we were being pursued by a PA-28 out of Blackpool but they were around 8 minutes behind us.

We turned left at Llandudno and flew down the Menai Strait whilst receiving a service from London Information, who helpfully advised Caernarfon of my later than expected arrival time, before joining overhead for runway 25 where I actually greased the landing.  Even better than that, there was the local instructor, Keith, watching who complemented me on my technique as we walked over to book in!

 

 

As for the pesky PA-28? They overtook us at Caernarfon and landed just ahead of us by joining left base whilst I descended into the circuit from overhead. I guess they can’t afford the extra fuel burn that we can in a microlight…

We exited airside and walking across to the café I basked in the moment. There is nothing quite like that feeling of sauntering casually to the café at any airfield having just flown in.  I remember being a kid sat at Cosford or other local airfields watching the local sky gods do there thing and thinking one day that would be me.

Well now it is me, and I still love it.

Every.

Single.

TIME!

Sorry, I digress.  The café at Caernarfon is very nice.  Great food (and proper coffee) at affordable prices and a great view of the airfield if you are coming to watch the arrivals/departures too.

 

 

The airfield’s landing fee is £12.50 for microlight aircraft, but if you are a member of LAC it is free providing you bring your membership card with you, which is a nice bonus.

The return trip was uneventful.  Uneventful that is right up to the part where SkyDemon suddenly announcing that I had climbed 2500 feet into controlled airspace and then immediately descended 2500 feet in the time it takes for me to write this sentence.

So either this is correct, and Liverpool missed it and I really did explore hitherto untested structural limits in the C42 that are more akin to a Typhoon than a microlight, or, perhaps more likely, there was a glitch in the software…

I’ll let you decide which explanation is more likely.

What a great trip though, on a great flying day for most of the UK.

Grinfactor = 10

I followed that up with a trip to Rossall Field yesterday to fly the circuit at my home airfield for the first time, and then land on runway 20 for a quick coffee and a chat with some of the club members.  I also took the opportunity to check on Yankee Lima as I’ve not been up for a while, before departing back for Barton.

 

 

So two new airfields in 5 days, one a long asphalt runway with an A/G service, and the other a small farm field with a slightly boggy intersection and blind calls on the radio.

Totally different experiences but great additions to me knowledge of flying.

I’ll be back at Gloucestershire later this year to finish my LAPL, but in the meantime its spring (apparently) which means getting the permit done on my AX3 and getting her into the air ASAP for some local bimbles.

Any suggestions? Please let me know.

Hope to see you at an airfield soon.