Archives for March 2005
Lesson 10: More circuits, of course
If I were learning on the Canterbury Plains I’d have the drawback of more ‘big’ traffic but the benefit of miles and miles of flat land in case I had to land with a mechanical problem. At Queenstown it’s different: there are lots of hills, and only runway 32 has a reasonably large safe area after takeoff.
So engine failures will be tricky. Runway 05 – land on the river bed. runway 23 – land in the Lake (that’s why we always wear lifejackets). Runway 14 – land up a hill, if the engine failure is too late. Let’s hope it doesn’t happen. It does, at least, reinforce the importance of the pre-flight check.
We left a little early to try and avoid the Milford traffic but ended up waiting at the Delta holding position for several minutes, burning money, whilst other aircraft progressed ahead. Finally we made a call to the tower and got airborne.
Traffic was a bit of a handful. We managed only one ‘regular’ circuit but also a couple of orbits (between two hills, damn it!), long downwind legs, short landings and finally a steeper descent to avoid the wake turbulence from an Air New Zealand 737. Yep, this is a ‘real’ airport. You don’t get this at Headcorn (but nor can you get a free landing if you buy lamb from the tower).
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Lesson 09: More circuits
And so the routine continues. I’m doing more and more myself, consequently Naama needs to say less. After the horrors of yesterday, the weather gave us a much more comfortable ride. We also had our first proper bump as I flared too soon. Ouch. Plus we had a go-around as I was approaching too high.
In this clear morning we completed several nice circuits on runway 05. I’m pleased that I’m getting on fine in still weather, but the wind is going to cause me problems!
The most noteworthy part of the lesson was finding out that my instructor is 26 years old. I’m being taught by someone five years younger… not that it’s a problem. At least she says I don’t act like a 31 year old!
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The medical
There’s an interesting story in the papers here about an Air New Zealand pilot who suffered three faints in the past ten years and has now been grounded by the CAA following a failed medical. The court has ruled that the CAA was correct but the pilot is appealing and seems to have the full support of the pilots’ union. I’m not sure what’s right, given that he’d be flying a 767 but alongside another crew member. The case continues.
Meanwhile, even amateurs like me require a Class 2 medical. It involves a lot of prodding and (verbal) probing but no coughing. It was very thorough, in fact the most detailed I’ve ever had, including blood pressure, urine tests and an ECG. It seems I’ll live.
With myopia at -3.25 and -4.25 I need to go for a full eyesight test so I’ve not passed the medical yet. There may be issues surrounding contact lenses, we’ll have to wait and see, but hopefully nothing that will stop me flying.
I felt good about passing the tests so celebrated with a beer.
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Lesson 08: more circuits
A frustrating morning. I thought I was getting the hang of this circuit thing, but the wind taught me otherwise.
The sky was clear blue with fog hanging above the lake when I woke at seven this morning. It was the first time I’d seen the sky for days. Arrived at the club in my new car, The Turd, and pre-flighted WAK. The wind was 160/07 but we were cleared for runway 23. Blair over-rode this and requested grass runway 14, my first circuit off tarmac.
The first couple were a catalogue of errors. Not keeping the nose straight on take off; airspeed varying when turning; completing downwind checks too late; too high on approach (we did a go-around on the first circuit). After the confidence building of Monday, today was a bummer.
It was all made a bit more difficult by the wind which veered and backed until we had a real crosswind landing. The terrain didn’t help either, bearing in mind that a normal circuit on runway 14 is at 1,000′ above ground level but requires crossing 650′ of hills and powerlines on the final approach! We got bounced around but that was all good fun.
Halfway through we switched to 05 and did a couple more touch and gos before finishing our 45 minutes of flying. Blair remained complimentary and said there was not too much to worry about, but it seemed all hard work to me. Especially seeing Blair, with his hundreds of hours of flying, completing the perfect circuit.
Well, at least I got to fly a plane on a beautiful sunny day around the Southern Alps. Yet so much to work on…
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Queenstown Tower
I get to the aeroclub at 8am, six days a week, with two lessons booked in per day. Strong crosswinds this morning meant no circuits, instead, a chance to visit the Tower. What a view! It is much clearer and broader than I expected, friendly people too. I hope they’re still as friendly after my 100th radio cockup.
What a stressful job it must be. At the height of summer movements into and out of Queenstown can reach 600 a day. Unlike most controlled airports, controllers can’t see most of their airspace because of the surrounding hills and mountains, nor can they use radar since it would bounce off the local terrain.
Just two people handle the traffic, one for ground movements and one for the tower. They have my respect, especially when trying to coordinate jet airliners, light aircraft in the circuit, sightseeing planes, helicopters, aerobatic display aircraft, hang-gliders plus two parachute jump planes for a separate strip inside the zone. These may all be in operation at the same time, especially on a clear, sunny afternoon. Indeed, so complex is the environment that the New Zealand CAA publish a special leaflet (PDF) to help explain the procedures. It’s worth a read.
Now I understand why first thing in the morning is the best time for circuits. No wonder I’m getting up much earlier than when working full time back in London!
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Lesson 07: More circuits
Circuits will be my life for several hours yet as I try and become more stable when flying the aircraft. Indeed, it’ll be circuits until I go solo, whenever that will be. Rumour is that students get very bored of circuits but so far no complaints from here as I’m flying, it’s fun and hopefully I’m improving.
Things are better this afternoon. Airspeed was more stable and I was better at identifying whether we were too high or too low, although direction around the circuit was rather unpredictable. At least I am starting to look out of the cockpit to assess attitude rather than solely relying on instruments.
The wind did catch me out however. We’re taking off from runway 23 on a right hand circuit with the wind coming from about 210 degrees. As a result I’m getting blown further downwind such that by the time I’m setting up for final approach I’m too low and need to add power. I didn’t really appreciate this until Naama explained it afterwards.
Towards the end of the lesson we were asked by the Tower to do a short approach. Yikes, that’s steep! It was also neat that a Qantas 737 had to wait for us to vacate the runway before it could enter. Join the queue, I’m playing with the big boys! Although increased jet traffic during the ski season – which operates under IFR (instrument) rules – means that VFR (visual) flying and training may be restricted, which would be a pain. At least I’ll be able to get to Sydney directly when I leave rather than take the three flights, Sydney-Auckland-Christchurch-Queenstown that it took to get here.
A satisfying afternoon.
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The circuit
If you’re reading in detail (bless you) you’ll discover that I’m entering many hours of ‘the circuit’, so I’ll try and explain what it is.
The circuit is an ordered pattern flown by all aircraft around a runway, enabling collision avoidance and landing control. It also gives a chance for people like me to hone handling skills through lots of takeoffs and landings.
There are five legs of the circuit:
1. Climb out
2. Crosswind, at 90 degrees to the runway, where the climb continues
3. Downwind, parallel to the runway and in the opposite direction to landing, where the aircraft should level off at 1,000′ above ground level. Here the pre-landing checks are completed – BUMFH (brakes, undercarriage, mixture, fuel (cocks, contents, pump, primer, pressure), hatches and harnesses) – plus a radio call made
4. Base, assuming clearance has been given, where the aircraft is slowed, flaps are lowered and the descent begins
5. Finals, where we line up with the runway and try and land.
Sounds simple but can be pretty difficult if there’s lots of traffic about, if the wind is blowing us off course or if there are hills in the way.
There are always hills in the way at Queenstown…
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Lesson 06: In the circuit
So far I’ve flown straight and level, climbed and descended and made a few turns. Now I need to stick these in order plus take off and land, to begin the circuit. I’m going to be here for a long time so may as well enjoy it.
After a thorough briefing Naama and I are up again. It’s tricky! Trying to maintain heading, height and control is complicated and have a tendency to keep my eyes on the dials rather than looking outside. A mistake when there are mountains are in the way.
Takeoff is difficult. For various reasons the aircraft pulls to the right when applying power, producing quite a violent swing, and I’m not giving enough rudder to correct it. It’s astonishing how great the pull is, and I’m thinking of rudder as on-off rather than something with scale.
Finals and landing are invariably not so hot. The angle of descent is remarkable before we pull back (’round out’ and ‘flare’) for landing. Nevertheless I’m starting to understand the angles and whether we are high or low. I’m also recognising how to user power and flaps to control the approach. Whilst our airpseed should remain the same, about 60 knots, we can increase power if too low and decrease it if too high. Once happy with the approach and height, add more flaps to reduce groundspeed to the lower possible level making for a comfortable landing.
So much to think about.
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The Turd
With a town as spread out as Queenstown and lots of early starts at the airport, I needed wheels. After knocking around town for a few days in a very old Ford Sierra (GBP8 a day, and I was offered it at GBP40 a week – bargain) I finally found what I needed on a local community noticeboard.
Let me introduce a 1986 Nissan Bluebird 2.0l Widetrack. NZ$1,000 – that’s about GBP380.
I call her The Turd.
Lesson 05: Basic Stalling
This, it’s said, is the lesson students fear. I still don’t know why, it’s flying which is fun! The sensation is nowhere near as bad as a trip to Alton Towers. And after the way we threw the plane around during the first couple of lessons, these stalls are nothing.
As the plane (and most importantly its wings) gains a higher angle of attack the airflow over the wings is disturned until it is reduced to a point where the lift generated can no longer hold our weight. The wing stalls and the plane slips down then dives forwards. It’s pretty hard to do as there are plenty of audible and physical warnings before stall speed is reached. In the Tecnam, it’s just 40 knots, 50 mph (about 23 knots with the flaps down), which is rather low.
Recovering a basic stall is also pretty simple: nose forward to regain airspeed and perhaps some power too to stop us dropping too fast. Except I kept putting on power at the same time as moving the nose forward. Naughty, apparantly. We got there in the end, and even with the wing drop stall it was a disappointingly tame lesson!
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