Hello,
Update No. 2 !
The last couple of months have seen the flying start to
get a little bit more serious. At the start of March I had my first progress
test. It's the equivalent of the UK PPL although they expect you to be of a much
higher standard with a view to being successful in the next part of the course.
The test is split into two segments - a navigational
exercise and general handling. The nav is based on the principal of dead
reckoning, i.e. if you point the plane in the right direction and fly a heading
(adjusted for the wind) at 105kts after 40 minutes you should arrive at point X.
This is all very well but unfortunately Mr. Wind and Mr. Air Traffic Controller
like to make your life difficult so you have to refine your headings and times
periodically. In addition point X is a building, which appears the size of a
very very small spot on a landscape with lots of very similar small spots and
pointing at the wrong spot and saying Whoopee we've made it is met by a swift
clip across the ear and a back to base for a debrief on why you failed the test.
Fortunately for me all went well and although it was
raining and I couldn't see very far in front what was underneath the aircraft
was what I was expecting, which is after all what counts.
The next part is the general handling which consists of
stalling in various configurations, with flap, without flap, straight and level
and in turns (if people crash light aircraft they tend to do it on the way
into landing so the idea is to recover with as little height loss as possible)..
Then steep turns with 45° bank both straight and
level and without power in a downward spiral towards the ground... Now its time
for the 'practice' emergencies - at about 3000 - 4000ft the examiner in a
mocking tone will say - oh no your engines blown up or oooh ouch were on fire,
where upon I have to complete a set of emergency drills and setup to land in a
field. In general you do actually fly without power down to a few hundred feet
above your field, this is to make sure that you would have actually made it and hopefully
would have been able to walk away.
Finally its back to Jerez
airport for some circuits again in various configurations - Short field landing
with max flap and as slow as possible in order to stop as quick as possible on
the runway (the warrior can stop in a few hundred meters)... Flapless landings
which are faster and are normally used if the is a lot of wind and you need the
speed to get penetration and finally the glide approach (the trickiest by far)
where you simulate an engine failure and have to pick a spot in the circuit
where you think you can make it in without power and that's it pull the power
and your on your own. Too high and you would be at risk of overshooting to low
and your not going to make it (fortunately you do still have a working
engine so if it does all go pear shaped the power comes back on and although
slightly red faced you do live to fly another day!).
Then the dreaded pass/fail
moment - luckily its a pat on the back and a well done chap you've passed. It's
then the examiners turn to have some fun (as a former RAF Jaguar pilot he's a
bit of a pro) and I get a demo of some of the more exiting manoeuvres the
warrior can do and a demo of the best landing I've seen to date...
As for the rest of life out here
in Jerez - the weather has starting to pick with most days up in the early to
mid 20's and the first signs of a tan are returning.... Still a few months
before the pool opens so lounging opportunities are largely restricted to the
areas around the bar...
The theme at the moment is fad
sports - we find something new to do around campus and then spend 5 hours a day
perfecting our skills arranging tournaments and getting to a reasonable standard
before deciding that its all to much and moving onto the next thing... Recent
fads have included - Table tennis, more table tennis, table football (see photos),
real football, 'territory' rugby, cage cricket and the current one is shooting
hoops on the basketball court...
The night life has largely been
restricted to in campus activities with parties and quiz nights arranged by a
social committee.... Particular highlights include the 70's funk night (see
photos), Manchester Night (don't ask) and the Dutch party... As the weather
picks up the night life gets going in the local towns so post upcoming exams it
should be back to business as usual.
What's next? - I'm now not to
far off finishing the warrior flying and should get it all out the way by the
end of May (including another progress test) and then it's on to the twin, which
is a serious bit of kit... There is also the matter of the final ground school
exams and worryingly this is the last week of freedom for a while with serious
study time from next week (exams at the start of June)!
It would be good to hear how you
are all doing and anyone thinking of coming over, anytime from the end of June
will be best - so start hunting for your cheap
www.ryanair.com flights.
Cheers,
James