Meterology Exam and Lesson 9 : Circuit Flying!

No flying for a while due in part to the depressing wet weather we've had so far this year but also [for the last two weekends] a trip away from home.

Needless to say it was so good this weekend to be back on the flying front once again.

First of all, yesterday was a step forward when I got another test out of the way being the Mereorology Exam. It was a really interesting subject and I think they should maybe make the test a bit more extensive. It is only 20 questions and I think should be at least 40 or 50. Anyway, a couple of stupid mistakes plus (I think one test answer which was wrong) got me 80%. I had sat three sample tests earlier in the morning and got 100% on each one so I was a bit anoyed with myself but hey ho - a solid result nonetheless. I'll start on the Aircraft General and Principles of Flight next. I think that one is 50 Questions.

 Today I was so pleased to get the opportunity to fly again as it was the first part of circuit flying. It lived up to expectations and I really enjoyed the experience. Reading about it elsewhere on the web I can see this will be a challenging and probably lengthy part of the course. It was quite difficult today by all accounts as the wind was fairly strong and gusting considerably. We were on runway 02 with a slight crosswind at 40 degrees. The final approach meant descending over a small valley of trees and busy motorway before hitting (not literally) the elevated airfield. Descending at the correct height puts you right in the choppy air and we got buffetted around quite a bit. We did 4 approaches in a "touch and go" situation which went fairly well before flying off to the Isle of Grain for some general maneuvering excercises. The final landing back went well although the tolerances between a great approach and a wrong approach [especially in such conditions] are obviously quite slim.

During the debrief, my instructor Mike, gave me pointers on how it all went. This included the good bits (the approach, landings apparently) and not so good bits (turn into downwind and turn into final).

What else can I say, this is going to be a really good challenge! I have another lesson booked for next Sunday and I will certainly book that next exam!

9. 06-03-11 C152 G-BNIV EGTO EGTO 12:50 13:50 1:00 1-1 EX12/13