IFR and moving onto the Twinstar!

So a lot has been happening here in the two months since my last post. We started the Multi Engine phase with two days of ground school, don’t think you get away from it after you leave the UK! After these two days, I think it’s fair to say we all came out of it pretty confused. It’s not until you get into the sim and actually see the things we were getting taught that it all seems to come together and make more sense.

Clearways seen on approach to runway 18L

So the first six flights in this phase are in the DA42 simulator. We start off practicing basic IF techniques such as selecting and holding attitudes, altitudes and headings. We then move onto tracking VOR’s, in other words using the navigation aid based at the airport to fly either a constant bearing to or from it. Next it is onto VOR holds, which are pretty demanding the first few times due to you having to think about a lot of things in a very short space of time, but once the technique is understood they become a lot easier to manage. We then go from the holding lesson onto going from the hold and into the VOR/DME approach before the final lesson which is GPS holds and approaches. The final flight in the sim is a check to see that all the techniques have been sufficiently understood before moving onto practice the techniques in the Cessna 172.

We only have eight flights in the Cessna in total consisting of practicing approaches and holds at Hamilton before starting the cross country flights which allow you to fly different approaches at airports such as Rotorua and Tauranga. It’s quite nice to get away from Hamilton and fly approaches that are new to you.



Engine shut down in flight as part of one of the Asymmetric lessons

A couple of weeks ago we moved onto the final stage of training out here which meant moving onto the DA42 Twinstar! We have a mix of VFR and IFR flights on the Twinstar which means we get quite a range of flying done on it. So far I have had 3 flights in it, which have been: Normal Operations – this lesson was just getting used to the handling characteristics of the aircraft as well as practicing some medium and steep turns as well as stalls. The next lesson was circuits, obviously with the Twinstar having two engines means it goes quite a bit faster than either the Katana or Cessna so there is less time to complete radio calls and checks before landing in the circuit. The most recent lesson I had in it was Asymmetric Flight – in other words flying on one engine and practicing having an engine failure after takeoff and continuing in the circuit. I really enjoyed these three lessons; it is quite a lot easier than I had thought it would be to identify which engine has failed. The first five lessons are conducted in VFR conditions before moving back into the sim for 6 IFR flights and then into the aircraft again IFR.

 

After this set of IFR flights we once again move back to VFR in preparation for the CPL flight test which is the last flight in New Zealand. We have three CPL Profiles to practice all of the fundamental techniques needed to pass the CPL. The test is broken down into six sections consisting of:

 

 

·       Departure

·       Airwork

·       En-route Procedures

·       Approach and Landing

·       Abnormal and emergency procedures

·       Simulated asymmetric flight

 

 

 

Away from the flying - a few of us recently went down to Taupo to go skydiving which was amazing! It was number one on my list of things to do in New Zealand and it definitely lived up to expectations, I’m very pleased I managed to do it and the weather was excellent for it too!

PT1, Time Off and Waiting To Fly On Instruments

Last time I updated my blog I was halfway to the first flight test out here in New Zealand; PT1. I have since passed this flight test which marked the end of the VFR stage (until we sit our CPL exam which is also done under VFR).

Before this flight test we had 13 Navigation flights to do. The first two were dual flights to show us the different navigation techniques as well as some more landmarks around the Hamilton area. We then had 10 solo navigation flights which were very enjoyable as we could choose where we wanted to fly to. I made the most of this by flying to as many places as I could around this area including the Coromandel Peninsula, Tauranga, Rotorua, New Plymouth, Taupo, Mount Ruapehu and Mount Ngauruhoe (aka Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings). I also flew to Napier and Gisbourne for my Cross Country Qualifier. The qualifier involves flying 300 miles and making two full stop landings at two different airfields away from Hamilton. I flew down to Napier and Gisborne for mine which involved flying at 9,500ft over some mountains which were 5,500ft! 

Flying over Lake Taupo

Air New Zealand Dash 8 departure from Napier

My aircraft parked in Napier!

Departure from Napier

Arrival into Gisborne

Looking down the coast next to Whakatane

My cross country qualifier route

Departure over Lake Taupo

Mount Ruapehu

Mount Doom

Going back to PT1, it is the equivalent of a PPL test, the only difference is that we don’t actually get any licence from it. During the flight we act as pilot in command, making all of the decisions related to the route, weather and overall safety of the flight while we treat the examiner as a passenger. It is divided into 5 sections including:

·    Departure – Performing checklists on the ground, requesting departure clearance and flying to clearance   out of the Hamilton zone.

·        Airwork – General handling of the aircraft – Steep and Medium turns through 360 degrees, Instrument flying, unusual attitudes and stalls.

·        En-route Procedures – The navigation part of the flight. The examiner will give us a nav leg to fly and then give us an inflight diversion to a certain point.

·        Approach and Landing – Getting back into the Hamilton zone, complying with the arrival procedure and circuits at the airfield.

·        Abnormal and Emergency Procedures – Handling of simulated emergencies with a successful outcome and also performing either flapless landings or glide approaches.

For my PT1, I was given a little town called Lower Kaimai to fly to, which is next to Tauranga and then down to Wharepapa South airfield which is south east of Hamilton. The leg from Hamilton to Lower Kaimai was just a normal navigation leg. On the leg from Lower Kaimai to Wharepapa South, I was given a simulated radio failure, which meant I had to divert to an uncontrolled airfield as you cannot fly back into Hamilton or any other controlled airfield without a radio unless you declare an emergency. I chose to divert to Te Kuiti as the runway at Wharepapa south was not long enough for the landing distance I had calculated for the aircraft. I planned the diversion and the headings I had calculated worked out quite well as it took us directly to Te Kuiti. I then performed a standard overhead rejoin to join the circuit for runway 16, we then did two circuits there before starting the general handling section. I was given steep turns through 360 degrees, compass turns, the full clean stall and the final approach stall with full flap. We then came back to Hamilton where I performed a flapless landing. Overall the feedback was the flight went really well with just a couple of minor things pointed out to me, I was very relieved to hear that I had passed!

Away from all the flying, since we have had a couple of weeks off, three of us decided to go to Sydney for 5 days which was absolutely fantastic. It was great looking around the city seeing the sights such as the harbour bridge, the opera house and Bondi beach and we had a couple of nights out there too. I also got upgraded to business class on the flight from Auckland to Sydney which was amazing! Some photos below:

We are scheduled to start the next stage of our training on the 24^th February which is the Instrument flying stage on the Garmin 1000 equipped Cessna 172’s before going on to the DA42 Twinstar for our multi engine phase, I can’t wait!

Until next time… 

Lots Of Flying!

Since my last update I have been flying a lot! The main news being that I completed my first ever solo flight! The flight itself lasted only 15 minutes, completing one circuit of the airport, but it was a great feeling to get it done! A few lessons later and I completed my first out of circuit solo, heading over to the east to practice some steep turns, stalling and practice forced landings. Practice forced landings are to practice choosing a field to land in should your engine fail during flight, it takes some practice flying down from 2500ft to 500ft and making the field you are aiming for with the power at idle.

About to go on another solo flight.

I’m now on lesson 26 which is half way to our first major test in New Zealand, PT1, testing our abilities to fly the aircraft accurately, making sure we can navigate successfully and the management of unexpected situations and emergencies. It’s quite amazing how quickly we are getting through all of the flying; I’ve already accumulated 30.4 hours of flying in just over a month! After lesson 26 all of the Nav flying starts which require us to fly routes around the Hamilton and New Zealand north island area. At first they are dual flights with an instructor and they decide where we fly before being free to choose where we want to fly for the route. It will be good flying to new airfields and getting to know the area a bit better. I’m looking forward to the challenge of flying approaches to airfields that I’ve never been to before.

Some photos from my flight to Raglan:

Aside from the flying, we have decided on our plans for Christmas and New Year. We are going to the beach at Tauranga on Christmas Day, it will be quite a novelty having Christmas on the beach when it is normally freezing cold and snowing at home! For New Year we are heading up to Auckland, the first major city in the world to celebrate New Year! We’re staying overnight there and hopefully going further north to explore the area round about Auckland. 
I also have my final PPL exam, before my ATPL resit in February., so far I've managed to pass them all first time, hopefully tomorrow will be the same!

In other news we recently bought another car last week, a 2.5L Twin Turbo Mitsubishi Galant VR4. Its an absolute beast!

Overall I feel that I’m making good progress with the flying and I feel I’ve come a long way since I started with only 7 hours previous experience. It’s amazing how quickly things are picked up and then perfected with a bit of practice and although there is a lot to remember to do, I’m really enjoying the flying part of this course!

We're heading over to Tauranga for Christmas Day and then down to Rotorua and Taupo for Boxing Day, hopefully it will be a lot of fun, its a perfect chance to go exploring while we have the time off!

Merry Christmas! 

New Zealand Flying

After all, this is what I’m here for...

Track of my first flight!

Since my last update I have passed my differences and PPL Air Law exams and completed up to lesson FK006! So far I have learnt a lot in these six lessons from the effects of controls to climbing and descending and onto stalling. Next things on the agenda are some more stalling, circuits and then my first solo... exciting stuff!

We normally go in around 1.5-2 hours before our off blocks time and do some preparation for the flight including getting the weather forecast for the airport and the local area and completing the mass and balance and performance of the aircraft. We then have a briefing with our instructor, detailing what we will be covering throughout the lesson. Then it’s onto the preflight checks of the aircraft; checking the fuel and oil quantity, testing the fuel for water and sediment and a general walk around of the condition of the aircraft are just a few of the checks before flight can commence. Then it’s off to retrieve our instructor and get the flight underway.

So far it’s been quite overwhelming at times at the amount of things there are to remember to do with actually flying the aircraft, as well as adding in checklists to be completed and talking to ATC, however I have found it very enjoyable so far and I think most things will come with experience and practice! 

Flight FK006 track, circuits at Matamata top right

At this stage of the training, we perform all the before take-off checks and the actual take-off and departure. My instructor normally takes over at some point during the departure to fly to the training area. Most of the radio telephony is left up to us to control, which was quite nerve-racking at first but I am slowly easing into it. I have also completed a few landings so far, some of which have been better than others! On my last lesson we flew over to Matamata to practice some circuits and to get the approach and landing correct. Matamata is a small uncontrolled airfield around 15 minutes from Hamilton, it’s mainly used for gliding but it’s a lot quieter than Hamilton and the runway is about a mile wide so it’s perfect to practice some circuits.

Raglan from the air

Away from the flying we recently had a trip out to Raglan Beach for the day which is on the West coast about an hour from Hamilton. It’s well known as one of the best surf beaches in New Zealand, shame I can’t surf though! It was an excellent day out and it was absolutely boiling, it’s really weird having hot sunny weather at the end of November! On the way back we stopped off at Bridal Veil Waterfalls which were very impressive. On one of my lessons we actually flew over Raglan Beach which was amazing to see the sights from 2,500ft.

We also have been down the Waikato River a couple of times in inflatable dinghy's with a few beers, enjoying the sunshine. It's great fun and very relaxing! 

Floating down the river

I had the first of my PPL exams today, which is what I have to take as a result of failing my Mass and Balance ATPL before coming out here to New Zealand. It was Navigation and Flight Planning today and I’m pleased to say I passed it with 82%, 4 more PPL exams to go! Hopefully, we should be finished them by Christmas as we are doing one per week until then; and afterwards I can focus all my attention on my ATPL resit in February.

I’m flying tomorrow for lessons FK007 and FK008 which are Stalling 2 and Circuits 1… making quick progress!

Bye for now…