Day Nine – First Circuit

Today the wind speed and direction allowed for us to begin practicing the circuit with a series of “touch-and-go’s”. A touch and go involves landing, a short ground roll, the application of full power and takeoff. It is a great way to practice takeoffs and landings in a short amount of time. A normal circuit only takes about seven minutes to complete, but I am here to tell you that a LOT happens in those seven minutes. Landing checks to perform, radio calls to be made, and always an ear for what the controllers are telling you and other aircraft.

Contrary to popular belief landing is pretty easy – one way or another you’re coming down. Making a GOOD landing, on the other hand, takes some practice. Cherokee 140s are tough little planes and their landing gear must be even tougher to handle the abuse we put them through. Final approach – keep the numbers above your windscreen by increasing or decreasing power. Keep your speed at 69 knots – raise or lower the nose. Now watch how the runway expands in your peripheral vision – level the wings. Focus on the end of the runway – raise the nose. Not too much! Watch the runway expand again – raise the nose again and wait for the flare. Touch down, ground roll, full power and away you go again. Climb at 75 knots. Seems so easy doesn’t it?

Again, the winds picked up in the afternoon and my instructor and I decided to cancel our afternoon booking and wait it out until tomorrow.

Day Eight – Introduction to the Circuit

A circuit is the path aircraft must follow when operating in the airspace near aerodromes. It allows for the orderly and safe movement of aircraft and is managed by ATC or the “tower”. A circuit is actually a rectangular series of paths or “legs” that begin with takeoff and end with landing. After takeoff you climb straight ahead to about 1300’ and make a 90 degree left-hand turn to the “crosswind” leg. On the crosswind you continue to climb to circuit altitude (approx. 1000’ above aerodrome elevation) which in the case of St. Andrews is 1600’. Another 90 degree turn takes you on the “downwind” leg running parallel to the active runway. Once you are well past the end of the runway, another 90 degree turn brings you onto the “base” leg where you begin your descent. One last 90 degree turn brings you back in line with the runway for landing. Most circuits are left-handed (Roger would be pleased to learn), meaning each turn is to the left, but it can also be right-handed. Of course, planes come in to and out of the circuit in many different ways depending on circumstances.

Unfortunately, the wind was gusting to over fifteen knots today. Paul tells me that mastering the circuit is one of the more challenging aspects of training. He didn’t think it would be a good idea for me to start learning in such challenging conditions. Putting theory into practice will have to wait.

Day Seven - A Good Day

Today was one of those days when everything just seems to go right. I felt more coordinated and managed to hold my altitude and heading much better during the exercises. Takeoff was smoother and landing only needed a few nudges on the controls from Paul. My radio communications with ground and tower controllers are improving. We spent the morning and afternoon sessions practicing slow flight, stalls, spins and spiral dives. These manoeuvres are “undesirable flight attitudes” and are taught simply in order to recognize and recover.

[Mom, you can stop reading now]

In a spin, the aircraft rotates around all three axes simultaneously pitching, rolling and yawing. All this while pointed straight down, corkscrewing to earth with the stall horn blaring and losing several thousand feet in the process. The good news is that since the wing is stalled, speed is relatively slow and recovery (for most aircraft) is pretty straightforward. I REALLY like spins!

Spiral dives, on the other hand, involve high speed. If left uncorrected, the aircraft’s speed will increase to the point where the wings tear off and the airframe disintegrates. Paul tells me that they don’t allow students to practice this manoeuvre on their own. I’m fine with that.

The only misstep I made was during engine shutdown. When I turned the key to perform a “live mag” check, I inadvertently pressed the key in. Have you ever tried to start your car while the engine was already running? Aircraft mechanics really don’t like that sound…

Day Six - My Instructor’s Day Off

Today is my instructor’s day off, so I guess it’s my day off, too. Thought I’d tell you a little bit about the airspace in which we practice. The “practice area” is designated airspace to the northeast of St. Andrews Airport. It more or less runs from East Selkirk-Tyndall-Garson-Beausejour in the south to Libau-Scanterbury in the north. It encompasses some mighty fine country filled with farm fields, gravel pits and cows.

Travel to the practice area is via one of three air routes at an altitude of 2500’ out and 2000’ back. With two flying schools based out of St. Andrews, the airspace in the practice area can become very active. Prior to entering the practice area, we make a general radio call on 122.75 MHz “looking for the advisory” basically asking where everyone is and what they are doing. We then decide where we are going to go to stay out of their way.

When you’re not looking at the controls, you’re looking all around you for unexpected traffic. Prior to any manoeuvre involving reduced visibility or significant changes in altitude, we always complete a series of 90 degree turns to scan the area. On Friday, I spotted a plane rapidly approaching our position at a lower altitude. It wasn’t a near miss or anything, but definitely WAY TOO close. The plane was from another flight school. They either didn’t properly broadcast their location and intentions or the call was somehow missed. An important reminder of the adage “see and be seen”!

Day Five – My Two Left Feet

Today was one of those days when everything just seems to go wrong. My takeoff was all over the place and I imagined the tower controllers slapping ten dollar bills onto the table betting on whether I’d end up in the sewage lagoon or the trees. It’s all very overwhelming trying to simultaneously control ailerons, rudder, elevator, and power settings, not to mention make radio calls and try and maintain a flight path at least close to the designated airway. I have to remind myself that I’m only four hours into my training and that I have a competent instructor in the seat beside me.

On a positive note, I wrote my PSTAR this afternoon and scored 98% or 49/50. The only question I answered incorrectly was: Avoiding wake turbulence [wing-tip vortices produced by aircraft – especially large aircraft] is

a) the sole responsibility of ATC [air traffic control].
b) the responsibility of the pilot, only when advised by ATC of the possibility of wake turbulence.
c) a responsibility shared by both the pilot and ATC.
d) the sole responsibility of the pilot.

I second guessed myself and answered “c”. And while it is true that ATC does provide separation between large aircraft and small aircraft (and provide wake turbulence warnings to pilots) the ultimate responsibility is, of course, the pilot’s. As someone said, “It’s YOUR butt!”

Glad that’s over. Now I just need to study for the “Radiotelephone Operator’s Restricted Certificate” and the “Air Law or PALAW”, and the “Navigation or PANAV”, and the Meteorology or PAMET”, and the “Aeronautics-General Knowledge or PAGEN”, and the practical flight test, and the…

Day Four – Weathered In Again

The weather crapped out on me again, so I spent most of the day studying for my Student Pilot Permit or “PSTAR” for short. The PSTAR is a mandatory written test required by Transport Canada prior to a student being allowed to solo. It is a series of 50 multiple choice questions covering procedures, communications, air law, collision avoidance, etc. You must score a minimum of 90% in order to pass. It is similar, in some ways, to a learner’s permit for driving a car and hopefully insures that you won’t be a menace to your own safety or that of others.

In addition to various written tests, student pilots must also complete a Class 3 medical exam. The medical is fairly standard, with a lot of emphasis on vision for obvious reasons. Now, I don’t have any problem with my eyesight, but I am red-green colour blind. Unfortunately, this means that I have a restriction on my licence prohibiting me from flying at night. I’m sure Transport Canada could give you all sorts of good reasons why this should be the case. While I don’t have any aspirations of making a career out of flying, I can’t imagine how devastating it must be for young men (colour blindness is mostly a male condition) with dreams of becoming airline pilots or fighter jocks. Not much good at either if you can’t fly at night. Although, theoretically I guess I could fly bush planes in the summer north of 60 and in the winter down at the southern tip of South America...

Day Three – In the Air, Finally!

Okay, finally made it up today! The weather smartened up long enough for me to put in two sessions with my instructor Paul. After a short pre-flight lesson it was time to reacquaint myself with the walk-around of the Cherokee 140. Nothing came apart in my hand, so all good.

My first flight up was just the same feeling as last time around. I didn’t feel nervous and I didn’t feel overly excited, I just felt comfortable. We practiced straight and level flight, climbs, descents and turns. I found my way around the controls without too much difficulty and began to learn the quirks of each particular aircraft. Depending on when I am booked and what is available, I could be in G-CQEX, G-CQPN, G-CQPR, or G-CQPV. On one, the airspeed indicator reads 5 knots high. On another, the tachometer reads 100 RPM low. The radios are slightly different in some. Some you are permitted to do spins in, others you can’t.

Each day I have a 1 hour flight at 11 am in the morning and a 1 hour flight at 3:30 pm in the afternoon. With pre-flight and post-flight briefings, each session runs around 1 and 1/2 hours. I fill the time in between with studying and preparing for the next lesson. Once I solo, the mornings will be more dual instruction (with my instructor) and the afternoons will be time to practice on my own. Eventually, I will have to fly a series of cross country flights in and around southern Manitoba for navigation training. I’ll try and take some pictures from the air soon. As you can imagine, flight time is valuable and there isn’t much time for sightseeing.