"Beacon Bashing"

Just over a month through the IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) training I've now completed the first batch of sims and the first 5 flights in the Cessna.  All five flights were done overhead Hamilton using the VOR beacon here - hence the term "beacon bashing" as it's a little repetitive, but really useful practice at this stage.  I'll try to keep some of the jargon to a minimum from here on in, but I'll do my best to explain what it is we are doing currently!

We learn to fly IFR because that's what we'll be using daily as part of commercial flying - the whole point is to fly along published routes or procedures to keep us away from any terrain and set us up on a suitable profile for landing when visibility is poor or flying in cloud.  It is also easy to get disorientated when flying in cloud, so it's important for us to get to grips with trusting and flying off the instruments.

I Can't See!

The first experience of flying in cloud is a little surreal, and goes against what was ingrained in us during the VFR stage (staying visual!) in keeping clearance from cloud. All the training in the sim did prepare us well though, and once you get used to flying off instruments it all seems a bit more manageable.  I must admit that it was an awesome feeling to fly through and then above clouds for the first time - hopefully we'll have plenty more opportunity to do that over the next few weeks.

Watching a coursemate fly a fine holding pattern in the sim.

The Sims

The Simulators we have here are DA42s (The Twinstar) but we don't actually fly the Twinstar for the first 8 flights - instead we're in the single engine Cessna 172.  However, at the moment the focus is learning the IFR procedures and how to use the Garmin Glass Cockpit (the two large screens shown in the picture above) which the Cessna is equipped with so although it might seem strange to swap aircraft from the sim to the first batch of flights, it's not been that bad.  Plus it's been good fun flying a different aircraft!  The other bonus of the Cessna and the Twinstar is that they come with 2 extra seats in the back for passengers (but alas, no on-board service) so I've managed to backseat a few flights that my coursemates fly and vice versa - meaning plenty more pictures to follow!

Our aircraft to start IFR flying  - the mighty Cessna 172

Back in the skies

As good as the sims were, it was great to be back in the air again and it allowed us to actually fly what had been practised in the sim. These past few lessons have tended to be very busy, using either the Hamilton VOR (to put it crudely, think of it as a homing beacon which we can navigate to) or GPS coordinates.

For either of these approaches we have a specific point to a hold above before commencing the approach.  Holding is just that - waiting around flying in a racetrack shape until we are cleared to proceed further - something I imagine we'll get used to while flying commercially, so I guess it's a good thing we are getting plenty of practice now!  I've put a picture of the approach plate we use for one of the runways here, and you can see the hold is the racetrack shape above the beacon (with the 3000' in the middle).  I'll give a skeleton overview of how we would fly this approach.

A guide for flying IFR - one of the Hamilton Approach Plates

If you can imagine this is directly above the airport - so we are often circling 1000s of feet above in the hold, waiting for our clearance to descend for the approach.  Once cleared, we track 'outbound' on the approach, for our aircraft, is the line with 344^o heading up the page away from the aiport and descending as we go.  We then effectively do a "U-turn" back towards the airport on the 'inbound' on the 176^o line to the runway to land.  In this example we have a minimum decision altitude (MDA) which means if we are not visual with the runway at this point, we can't land.  As the weather has been fairly good recently, we are often simulated in cloud and it's not until we look up at 50 feet before the MDA that we are suddenly visual again and can proceed to land.

That's a VOR approach in a very basic nutshell which hopefully gives an appreciation of what goes on without all the detail involved!  Each runway here has VOR and GPS approaches, so depending on what we are doing in the flight we will use a different plate to fly the certain approach.  In addition to this we are managing radio calls, going through checklists and making sure we are flying accurately - it can be a very busy time.  I do notice my capacity to process all this information is getting better with each lesson, however it does take a lot of concentration and after each flight there are plenty of little areas to work on to improve for the next flight.

Beacon Bashing in action - two hours tracking overhead hamilton practising entries to the hold and various approaches

Flying above CTC - lots of aircraft not in the air on that day!

Watching on in the hold above Hamilton airport.  Clearways is on the far right, the runway is over to the left.  The white-ish circle in the middle of the field in the centre of the photo is the Hamilton VOR.

Next up for the flying side of things are IFR routes, where we plan to go to various aerodromes around the North Island practising flying along the set airways and doing different approaches - this should allow us to get away from the familiarity of the Hamilton procedures to try something new and consolidate what's been learnt thus far.  There are now only 3 flights left on the Cessna before I move onto the Twinstar....  I've also clocked over 100 hours flight time with CTC now - how has that come around so quickly?!

Flying through the clouds!

Flying between the clouds

Ahoy there!

As usual we've managed to keep ourselves busy inbetween flights, spending a few days in Raglan, a day at Waihi beach on the east coast, and a comedy night and the usual weekly quiz here in Hamilton.  A few of us have also invested in a small catermaran - now you may think that's a rash purchase given we've only got 2 and a bit months left, but it seemed like a good idea at the time!  We are yet to launch her on a maiden voyage having towed her back from Rotorua, fingers crossed on her seaworthiness and our sailing abilities.

Our new acquisition

Katana on approach to Hamilton, New Zealand never fails to impress!

It's also great news to hear the BA FPP is currently open for 2015 - best of luck to those applying!

Until next time...

Volcanoes and Mo's

I've now progressed onto the 'nav' phase of my single engine training - it's been a rapid progression from my first solo flight a few weeks ago through to where I am now, and there is still plenty more to come!

First Solo

After a couple of cancellations for my first solo flight the day finally came when I had my solo check with an instructor before being let loose for my solo.  The solo check was pretty straightforward, I did a few circuits with the instructor until he was confident that I could give it a go alone.  When the actual moment came I wasn't really nervous, more excited!  The instructor jumped out and then it was down to me - running through the checks I went to turn the engine over and...nothing happened.  The battery had died immediately and the instructor (who was waiting nearby) was as equally perplexed as I.  We parked the aircraft out the way and headed in to get another one - first solo on hold for a little longer.

As it was a new aircraft, the policy was to do the whole solo check again but it wasn't long before I was back by the side of the runway and on my own.  This time all worked normally, and I taxied out past my previous aircraft to line up on the runway.  I completed my first circuit with no problems, and it felt like a real milestone to have achieved.  Something I'll remember as a real highlight of my aviation career.  Of course, it's a very small starting point, going from one circuit in a single engine propellor onto eventually navigating in a commercial jet, but it's another onward step!

Solo Circuits

The next few lessons were hours of solo circuits practising various approaches alongside a standard approach such as simulating flap failure, or engine failure.  The flapless landings are basically just that - landing without any flaps set so you come in slighty faster and lower, while a glide approach (should you have had an engine failure) means judging your approach to make sure you don't fall short of the runway.  Of course, we don't actually cut the engine power we just bring it back to idle to simulate a failure and if the glide looks short then we simply apply full power and rejoin the circuit.  These lessons were pretty busy, however things like incorporating the checklists and talking to ATC became much easier and are now more like second-nature. 

First out-of-circuit-solo

After two more lessons with an instructor doing PFLs (Practice Forced Landings) and Steep Turns it was time to go outside of the Hamilton control zone alone.  PFLs are another safety drill, simulating an engine failure while away from an airfield - the drill helps you to prioritise finding a suitable landing area (a field) and flying the aircraft to give yourself more time in the air to get sorted.  The DA20s are really good gliders, so you do get a decent amount of time to plan and work through checklists.  

I went out to the east of Hamilton for my first out-of-circuit-solo, and it was an awesome experience.  The aim of these lessons is to practice all the techniques that we've learnt to refine our flying skills, called General Handling (GH) lessons.  This meant doing turns, stalls, PFLs, navigating all whilst keeping a good awareness or other aircraft and managing the arrival and departure procedures out of the Hamilton Control Zone.

GPS track of my first out-of-circuit-solo

GHs, Navs

After completeing a few more solo GHs going to the east and west you move into the Nav phase.  This is where we plan a full route, calculating wind, heading, speeds etc for each leg.  This involves keeping an accurate time log of the flight to make sure you reach the turning points when you expect to, as well as being ready to plan a diversion should weather mean you can't make a certain turning point.  Nav 1 & 2 are with an instructor, then Navs 3 & 4 are solo but the reverse of the two done with the instructor. 

I then progressed onto planning my routes around NZ, and this is the part that a lot of people look back fondly on.  I can see why!  Already I've had some incredible experiences, landing at different airports around the North Island, passing down the east coast of Auckland at around 800 feet in a transit lane (this keeps us clear of all the busy, commercial and military traffic and airspace), flying over Mt. Ruapehu which is a Volcano topping over 9000 feet near Lake Taupo.  The list goes on! 

I was also fortunate to be able to reposition an aircraft from Napier back to Hamilton meaning I could explore a little further afield than one could normally do as I had 2.5 hours to fly a nav from Napier to Hamilton, whereas normally it would not be possible to go to Napier and back in one nav starting and finishing in Hamilton.  Part of the deal meant I could get a 'taxi' ride down to Napier in the form of a backseat in a Twinstar (this is the aircraft I'll be flying in the next phase of training) - this was a huge bonus as well.  The Twinstar is a definite step up from the Katana and started to give me an appreciation for the transition we will make from this single engine phase to the multi engine one.  Once back in the katana, my flight from Napier to Hamilton took me to a Wanganui (a beach on the west coast) before tracking up past Mt. Ruapehu and onto Hamilton.  The views were incredible - like nothing I've ever done before.

Cross Country Qualifier

Next up was the cross country qualifier - part of the criteria for our CPL (Commercial Pilots License) involves a flight over 300nm and landing at two airports en route.  My flight took me over Mt. Ruapehu, back towards Napier where I had lunch in the terminal.  Then I flew up towards Gisborne, refuelling there before heading back to Hamilton via Rotorua.  The total flight time was around 4 hours, so it was a long day with all the stops, but really good fun to head into different airports and go to new places.  Having done that I can now appreciate how far we've come in a couple of months - it's now a handful of navs to go before PT1 which is a test at the end of the VFR (visual flight rules) phase.  Crazy!

Other News

We've been fairly busy with the flying over the last month, but managed to see more of NZ in the form of a trip to Taupo in October, Auckland and Raglan more recently to see some friends from home.  We also experienced NZ bonfire night and fireworks, a local cricket match, and took part in a treasure hunt style challenge across Hamilton as part of a charity event organsied by two instructors here.  The build up to Christmas is well and truly under way here, I'm still adjusting to the fact the weather is warming as we get closer to Christmas Day.  Yesterday we went kayaking in the morning then BBQ'd before heading to the Christmas Lights switch on in Hamilton - definitely a summery festive period!

Ohaupo fireworks on Bonfire Night

A fine evening for some local cricket!

View from Auckland Sky Tower

Misty morning on the apron

Our collective Movember effort!

View from the backseat of the Twinstar, looking down towards Napier

Clear Prop!

It’s just over three weeks in and I’m happy to say I’ve had a couple of flights and I’m looking forward to progressing with my flying.  Had the weather been a little better, then I would have had a few more flights under my belt but I had four cancellations even before I managed my first one. It's a start, anyway!

Following the weather has now become part and parcel of life here – trying to gauge what to expect as different weather patterns come through and where we might expect opportunities to get airborne.  The morning of my first flight there was a significant weather warning for turbulence, so I was geared up to cancel yet again, however things had settled down a little and having been mid-lunch suddenly it was time to get going.  That seems to be a common theme of life here – long periods of inactivity punctured by moments of intense busyness and steep learning.

First Flights

It was a real thrill to get back in the air again after so long, and despite there being plenty of turbulence still around and without much of a horizon, we managed to complete the lesson.  A nice clear horizon is needed in the early stages as pretty much 95% of the flying is done visually, meaning you set the attitude of the aircraft against the picture through the windscreen – a nice clear horizon makes this much easier!  At this stage the instructor takes care of most of the radio and the take-off and landings, but from my next lesson I should start incorporating elements of these into my skill set.  I did enjoy my second lesson a lot more, the more you fly the quicker you develop your “sea legs” (maybe there is a more apt aviation version – air legs perhaps?) so I felt much more settled second time around.  I also managed to find more time to focus on orientating myself which is an essential part of being a pilot.  There are various layers of airspace which have different classifications, some of which you need permission to enter, others can be classed as Restricted or Danger zone, etc. – this basically means you need to know where you are, as there is no sign in the sky telling you that you are about to “bust airspace”. 

Venturing Out

As I mentioned, there has been plenty of downtime here and we are rostered in for 6 days on with 1 day off each week.  As there hasn’t been much flying, there has been lots of opportunity to explore the local area and a little further afield.  We have the Pirongia Forest Park nearby here, where we took the opportunity to walk up to the Ruapane Lookout which looks over the Waikato Basin (that’s the area we are living currently).  It was a pretty eventful and beautiful walk, through thick forest then at the lookout some 700+ metres up we walked along the ridge where the weather was alternating between glorious sunshine, rain, pelting hail and even a touch of snow.  No wonder that there wasn’t much flying that week with such changeable weather!

Ruapane Lookout

The weather struggle to make up it's mind...

I also enjoyed a New Zealand birthday, where we took a trip east to coast at Tauranga and walked up Mt. Maunganui giving yet more amazing views down the beaches.  Yesterday saw us head east again to Rotorua which is famous for natural geothermal activity - and accompanying smell of rotten eggs given off by hydrogen sulphide emissions!  Rotorua is a bit of an adventure playground (well, I guess most of NZ is really, but lots seems concentrated here) and we have earmarked a few activities to come back and try.  We mostly spent the day wondering around various hot pools, and through a Giant Redwood forest which were both very impressive – we’ll be back!

View of Tauranga from Mt. Maunganui

Hot and Steamy in Rotorua

Hopefully I’ll be scheduled in to fly a fair bit this week as the weather is improving – the last few days have felt pretty Summer-like and it looks set to stay for at least the time being.

Sore necks, Giant Redwoods.