Day Two - Weathered In...Still

Unfortunately, the weather today is not much better (maybe even worse) than it was yesterday. Although the cloud ceiling was sufficient for students working on their circuits to fly today, I need at least 4000’ to practice manoeuvres such as slow flight and stalls. So, another day spent on the ground.

I thought I’d tell you a little about the plane I will be training on. The Piper Cherokee Cruiser 140 (PA-28-140) is a fairly typical low wing trainer aircraft. It has an empty weight of 1290 pounds, range of 455 nautical miles, 150 horsepower, and cruises at 110 knots. They are configured as two seat trainers and most of the ones I will be flying were built in 1977, just a few years after I was born. It’s not uncommon to see airframes this old, as the engines and other components are rebuilt or replaced on a regular basis and most of the VOTE TRUDEAU stickers have been scraped off the windscreens. In addition to the Cherokees, the flight school also has several Cessna 152s, a Cessna 172, Piper Warrior and a Piper Arrow retractable gear.

I debated whether to resume my training on the Cherokee or switch to the 152, mostly because I imagined one day owning a Cessna 172 or something similar. In the end I opted for the familiar. I don’t know, but the Cherokee also feels a bit more “sporty” to me with its low wing and more aerodynamic styling. Sheesh…

Day One – Weathered In

As you can see from the picture of St. Andrews Airport (CYAV), the weather wasn’t exactly conducive to flying today. Just Mother Nature’s gentle way of reminding VFR (visual flight rules) pilots that she always has the upper hand.

For those of you that don’t know the background to this little adventure, I first began taking flying lessons in 1998, just as I was finishing my M.Sc. in Zoology at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. Flying had been a lifelong dream of mine and the timing seemed right. After just a few lessons, however, I was offered a summer job in Inuvik, NWT and then another year long stint as a wildlife biologist in La Ronge, SK. I figured it wouldn’t be long before I could get back to it. As it turns out, I was then offered a permanent position in Churchill, MB and before I knew it – another 10 years had passed! Now that my house is finished and my financial house is in order, the time seemed right to revive my goal of earning my Private Pilots Licence (PPL). I decide to return to the same flight school in St. Andrews and, with a bit of refresher instruction, pick up where I left off. I booked off six weeks of leave and headed south to Winnipeg thanks to the understanding of my board of directors and amidst the joyous celebration of my staff. I thought going away parties happened before one leaves, not after?