My current reading list.

There’s so much theory to learn as well as the physical skills of flying. I’ve already suffered 40+hours of ground school covering such topics as:

· Theory of flight

· Engine and aero frames

· Flight instruments

· Navigation

· Meteorology

· Air law and regulations

· Human factors and decision making

Really though the ground school was just an intro to these topics. You need to hit the books for real if you ever want to pass your exam. So most of my spare time at the moment is spent studying. My reading material consists of the flight training manual and a book called “From the Ground Up”, which is basically the standard recommended text. If I’m going for something lighter then I’m also working my way through a series of books called “I Learned About Flying From That”. Lighter is a relative term. It’s a book based on real life pilot mistakes and mishaps. The idea being if you read about other people’s screw-ups, maybe you won’t replicate them.

I’m finding the reading tough going (especially “from the Ground up”. I’ve tried various techniques:

· in the bath with my music on

· on the sofa watching TV, catching 5 minutes reading between commercial breaks

· the British way, with a nice cup of tea

· necking back a can of cider (maybe the alcohol will make it more tolerable!)

So far I can manage anywhere between 10-20 pages before losing the will to live. At this rate it will take me the best part of a year to finish the damn book!

Привет мои русские друзья

Ok at the moment about half my page views seem to be from Russia
I have no idea how you found my blog, you are very very welcome though.

Please leave a comment or drop me an email. I'm very curious as to who you are and how you ended up here.

BTW If I have inadvertently sworn at you , blame google translate !

What goes up…

…must come down. Eventually. Preferably in one piece.

My first foray into the circuit was also my first attempt at landings. Up until this point I’ve been following along on the controls but Bob has definitely been the one “in control”. So after one demo circuit today is was all going to be about me putting it down on the tarmac. As I’ve mentioned previously my local airport is surrounded by water. In the summer it’s also surrounded by sailboats. With very long pointy masts. Right at the end of the runway.
As a sailor, the buoyed off areas at the end of the runways always seemed ridiculously large. As a pilot I don’t want anyone within 10 miles of me.

Ground School screws up my life!

Regular viewers may know that I don’t like flying on commercial planes. I did, for a brief moment, hold on to the illusion that learning to fly might make me a better passenger.

Yeah, that didn’t really work out so well. My Last passenger flight to D.C. was not my finest. I blame Ground School.  Thanks to the riveting classes on meteorology I can now recognize exactly one type of cloud (Towering Cumulus), and know exactly what they herald (Thunderstorms). So flying through a whole bank of them less than 12 hours after a Ground School Class that may as well have been called     “101 WAYS YOU ARE GOING TO DIE HORRIBLY IN A THUNDERSTORM”, wasn’t so great for my nerves.

Lessons from ground school

Anything you’ve screwed up in the air, someone from ground school has done worse. Even if they won’t admit it!

Tired and missing flying

I'm in the middle of a large conference that I’m organizing. It’s going well but it does mean I’m on duty for a large part of the day doing the happy smiling routine. Combined with the fact that I’m grounded for the next few days. I’m not necessarily the happiest bunny around.

I miss flying A LOT!!!! I had no idea how much I’d come to depend on the rush I get from a successful lesson. I’m trying to catch upon my reading but the conference is leaving me a little bit drained and in serious need of a glass of wine.

This flying stuff is more addictive than any drug out there.

I have such sympathetic friends

Very early on in my training I distinctly remember getting a voicemail from Bob with regard to our next lesson.  At this point I was still under the delusion that I was just going to take a few lessons

I remember it very well because I was out walking with a friend from work at the time. The basic jist of the conversation was, “HI WMAP, Plane’s booked at this time, so I’ll see you half an hour before for our briefing. You might want to have a look at the slow flight lesson in the flight training manual, Oh and maybe lesson 12 as well” <oh so casually said>.

I went white(er than usual). Friend obviously noticed something was up and made the appropriate enquiries. I explained that Lesson 12 was the dreaded “Stalls”. Once she was happy in her mind what I was talking about (illustrated by said friend making an airplane shape with her hand and imitating it hurtling down nose first). She proceeded to make the following observation

“Oh, Well you’re probably going to die then” and continued walking.