It was great to be back in the sky. Due to weather, holidays and changing instructor it has been 9 weeks since I last flew. It was slightly daunting to be heading back out there having been so long, not least because it was my first time flying with my new instructor Sue.
Weather was not up to scratch for cross country nav, which was actually kind of good as my last nav had a lot going on which might have been a tad too much ontop of the long break.
Quite a big challenge this time was the sun, directly down Runway 21L.. made the approach quite a bit difficult when you can’t see the runway!
Things to think about
- Making sure to do FATPL at the right point
- Be aware of passengers (e.g. Sue may be preventing some checks)
- 15deg turns max during full throttle/climb
- Turn a bit sharper on downwind, S flying a lot
- Gliding
- Work on judging the moment you can glide from
- Descent it’s ok to be steep
- Bad Weather Circuits
- Tighter turns
- Be more aware of position – stay parallel to the runway
- Turn just after M25
- Go around
- Stablise
- First step of flaps 30->20
- Wait for positive vertical indicator / climb
- Flaps 20->0
- Radio call
- Need to start thinking about the DI more, fly by headings rather than visuals
- Start making notes? Departure time/landings
Next Lesson
- Cross Country Nav
- M25 J28 -> Tiptree -> Boreham
Need to revise:
- Radio Calls (exit/entry/dead side)
- Flight Checks
- Checklist for DI etc.