Hour building-Local area nav

Preflighting KH, a beautiful calm dewy autumnal morning. 

As a gentle introduction back to hour building I thought I’d take the trusty PA38 Tomahawk ‘KH up for a local area navigation flight from Goodwood to Goodwood via a lap around the Isle of Wight. I planned the route via the following waypoints; Goodwood-Southsea-St.Catherines Point -The Needles -Cowes-Southsea -Goodwood, the route taking around 51minutes with the forecasted winds. 

Cruising over towards the Solent, Portsmouth -Hilsea and Copnor can be seen from the starboard wing as pictured 

Overhead my turning point at St Catherine’s Point, turning onto a heading towards the Needles 

The flight went well, the timings and headings made during planning matched the actual plog which is always satisfying. As well as aiming to fly to CPL standards in preparation for the CPL, the preflight planning of the route is just as important and I take time to fill out a plog as its good for practice and vital for a successful flight! I obtained a basic service from Solent Radar which again was beneficial to practice those RT skills! 

Needles 1’o clock! 

Inbound back to Goodwood, part of Gosport and Portsmouth- the new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth can be seen to the left of the Spinnaker Tower. A possible site for a forced landing.....?! 

Following this flight I plan to build up the complexity of routes and landaways, I’m away on holiday in November so will be looking to carry on in December onwards! 

Till next time, thanks for reading 

Hour building -'resumed'

Myself before a checkout flight in 'KH- photo courtesy of John Richardson 

Since completing the ATPLs earlier this summer it meant I had the 'fun' bit left to do...jump into an aeroplane and finish off the hour building!! After speaking to friends at the flying school, reading various books and advice from the Wings Alliance, I had a rough idea/plan of how I am going to build the hours constructively- and not just burn holes in the sky (and my wallet) flying in the local area...

I need to build a further 42hrs of PIC ( pilot in command ) time which realistically will be spread over the next year in chunks due to financial restraints and other commitments. During my ATPL study I flew very infrequently so my flying skills are 'rusty' but this was to be expected! I have been taking advantage of flying dual with an instructor during checkouts on various aircraft which is helping me build confidence and gain valuable experience, learning new things every time . As I write this I'm half way through a checkout on the beloved 'KH- the group shared PA38 Tomahawk and also fully checked out on the Cessna 172-the aircraft I learnt to fly in and incidentally based where I work now- the flying school. I'm also keen to build further hours on the school owned Piper Cub- gaining some hugely beneficial tailwheel time. This will do wonders for sharpening my flying and handling skills! 

I promise to be more frequent with the future posts, next time I'll report on my recent trips and jot down my rough hour building plan! 

Thanks for reading 

R

ATPLs..The Final

Since I last wrote, a lot has happened. It was the last 4 weeks before undertaking the Module 3 ATPL exams - principles of flight, performance, operational procedures, mass and balance and VFR/IFR communications, and the revision was ramping up. Since then, I've attended the revision brush up week at BGS in Clevedon and sat the final exams in the following week. 

 

Bristol Ground School brush up week- lesson on Performance 

Module 3 for me was a mixed bag, some very intense subjects like Principles of Flight or Performance alongside some less intense subjects like Communications or Operational Procedures, I sat the six exams over three days and felt I'd done ok all except Mass and Balance. During the mock tests I was taking I was scoring high for Mass and Balance so I was reasonably confident the 'real thing' would be similar. No. It was far from it! Lots of reworded new questions requiring lengthy calculations which meant I failed to finish the exam in time, I walked out of that exam room feeling I would be very lucky to have passed it...

 

A study distraction or inspiration? During my second week during the exams I stayed in a super cottage just a stone's throw from Bristol Airport so jet noise nearly constant! This was my view from the hallway roof window. Definitely an inspiration during long long hours of revision 

Results day loomed and I was pleased to say I passed all except that doomed mass and balance exam! I wasn't too surprised, it was toughest exam to date and my gut instinct didn't fill me with optimism! Was I unprepared, too tired ( it was the last day, second to last exam), complacent, or misreading the questions? Who knows, I'm not one to make excuses! 

I was happy with all other results so I just saw the positive through the failure and worked hard to revise further and practice as many mock tests and questions as possible. I was determined that I would pass the exam second time around! I booked the resit for two weeks later at the CAA at Gatwick as I was keen to get it done whilst my brain was still engaged in 'study mode' , before I forget it all! 

 

Revision fuel- coffee and biscuits

Exam day arrived and I made my way to the CAA at Gatwick. I signed in and nervously waited to enter the exam room. Time soon passed and before I knew it I was into the exam working my way through it, quickly but accurately! I managed to finish in time with 5 minutes to spare so I triple checked all answers and felt I'd given it my best shot. I vacated the CAA feeling like I'd done better but unsure how much better as it was another tough one! 

Luckily by taking the exam on the Thursday meant I had to wait less than 24hrs until results day. After an anxious wait I was greeted good news.  I opened the email at work, I had passed! And passed well with 90%! I was ecstatic and it took a while for it to sink in! Not only was this a pass but it was monumental as it marked the last of all 14 ATPL exams!! 

All of that study and revision that had completely taken over my life was now complete! It was like turning off a switch! Obviously this is just a small step on a long ladder to reach my goal so I know study will never be too far away, and as they say in aviation-you never stop learning. 

Throughout my study I'd like to thank my fiancé Char who stood by me my all the way through it and has had to put up with me studying away until late in night, on days off and even during some holidays! It goes without saying that I'm thankful to all family and friends and colleagues and customers at work for their support and encouragement. Lastly my success in passing all ATPLs would not have been possible without the superb tuition, content and support from everyone at Bristol Ground School, I can't recommend them highly enough! I'm thankful for the opportunity both The Air League and Bristol Ground School gave me when I was presented with the ATPL scholarship in 2005, without them, I wouldn't be where I am now...

 

The next step involves me climbing back into an aeroplane and building hours....! 

Till next time, thanks for reading 

1 month to go...

It's exactly one month today until I sit the first of the final six exams for Module 3. My lack of posting recently is a sure sign of the level of revision I'm undertaking! Lots of early mornings, late nights and revision crammed lunch breaks at work and many more to come! 

 I feel the revision is going fairly well, I've got a structure in place to follow over the weeks so it means that each subject gets an equal amount of  attention, I've structured it so that it will be a mix of exam questions, timed exams and re-reading the manuals. I've found that re-reading certain topics is highly beneficial as I've understood things better and been able to get my head around certain subjects areas once studying them a second time around. 

From what I've gathered from friends who have just completed Module 3, it certainly pays to gain a really good understanding into some subjects like Principles of Flight (PoF)  and Performance rather than just familiarising yourself with questions. I enjoy PoF and find the content interesting, but need to spend time practicing more and more exam questions. Mass and balance is quite systematic but again, I need to practice more and more as the time restraints will be a concern in the exam! 

Anyway till next time, thanks for reading 

Graphs and diagrams

 

Just another quick update from me with regards to the ongoing Module 3 study. I've now completed all the required reading for VFR/IFR Comms, Mass & Balance and Operational Procedures, next up is pure revision for them! 

As the title suggests, I'm confronted with more and more diagrams and graphs for subjects like Principles of Flight (POF) and Performance whether it being force diagrams or lift/drag graphs. I'm really enjoying POF, which surprised me, maybe because it's interesting and I can relate it to my 'physical experience' of flying an aircraft. I have a little more to read for these two subjects then it will be onto revision as per the other subjects 

I also booked my exams earlier in February with the plan to take them at the end of May. I was quite shocked at how the sittings were already being booked up, so I had to act fast! It also meant paying for them in advance so six exams at £68 wasn't a pleasant welcome to the bank account! Anyway, atleast I can rest in confidence that they are all booked, just now to revise and prepare! Time to go to town with post it notes and flash cards!!

I'll try and update sooner next time, as always thanks for reading :) 

The final push-Module 3

Firstly happy new year! 26 days in, not sure I can still get away with saying that!  Anyway first post of 2017 so here goes...

Going back to the end of last year, after a tense wait before Christmas I received those valuable emails from the CAA, it was results day! Luckily all Module 2 subjects passed - Aircraft General Knowledge, Air Law, Flight Planning and Radio Navigation. This was a great relief and thankful yet again to Bristol Ground School for this success! 

After a few days off for Christmas, I then started the reading the content for the final 6 exams. I set myself a deadline and booked the brush up revision week at Bristol Ground School for the end of May, giving myself sufficient time to study for the following final exams; 

- Performance 

-Principles of Flight 

-Mass & Balance 

-Operational Procedures 

-IFR Communications  

-VFR Communications 

The study is so far going well, and I've now got an appreciation of the more harder subjects and the easier ones. Performance and Principles of Flight seem quite mathematical in places whereas Ops Procedures is fairly factual based, IFR and VFR Comms was completed in a week!  

So back to the books I go, until next time...