Snow flying

On climbout from Goodwood looking south-west,compared to some places in Europe we had very little snow here!

I've been fortunate this winter, as so far I have managed to fly six times since Christmas whereas this time last year I was virtually grounded from mid-December right through to early March! So all this flying has been meant great progression in my PPL. I'm nearing completion of my solo navigation flights aswell, with the dual and solo qualifying cross country flight to follow soon. Since my last post I have flown navigation flights both solo and dual to Whitchurch, Haslemere and Burgess Hill. All these locations are within 40 miles of Goodwood, so nothing 'long haul' compared to when I undertake the cross country trip which requires around 150 nautical miles round trip.

Inbetween the longer trips we have covered crosswind circuits, where I experienced the full effect of a crosswind, thanks to the gusty conditions. There is something quite unnatural about pointing the nose of the aircraft 30 degrees of the centreline of the runway in order to offset the crosswind from either the left or right,but hugely rewarding to get the aircraft back on the ground!

Taken during a solo nav flight!!

The last two lessons focused on instrument flying, which teaches you the basic requirements to fly the aircraft with reference solely on the instruments as your reference to the outside world is completely cut off, by flying 'under the hood'. An aviator's blind fold in simple terms! I found this exercise very enjoyable but also very tiring, especially when your eyes have to focus on many instruments simultaneously and to interpret them