The circuit was pretty busy this morning, with many aircraft coming and going. In addition to a training airport, St. Andrews is also busy with commercial traffic – Keystone Air, Northwinds, Mission Air, etc. Several times we were juggled in to, out of and around the circuit by ATC to accommodate commercial traffic. These planes are much faster than us and for them, time is money. They don’t need to be held back by slower training aircraft like ours. All I can say is that something new was thrown at us during every circuit. At one point we were told to simply leave the circuit, do a 360 degree turn to kill time and come back when the other plane had landed. Another time, I was already on final approach when the tower instructed me to pull up and go around because the Cessna 152 ahead of us was still putt-putting along. Yes, that’s right – a guy in a Piper Cherokee who hasn’t even soloed yet making fun of another student in a Cessna. I have no shame.
This afternoon I ran C-GQPN out of hours. Better than running it out of fuel! Seriously, all it means is that it is company policy that every 50 hours each plane undergoes a regular inspection. This takes it out of service for a few days, unless something untoward is discovered and then it can be longer. I just happened to be the last student before the inspection. Hey Jim, whatever you find wrong with the landing gear – I didn’t do it!
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