That plan lasted until I got a call from Rob around 10am informing me I had stuffed up the booking as he was not available on the sunday... doh! Luckily he was free, and there was a spare aircraft at lunchtime, so I headed out to NZAR for my mock flight test...
As it was last minute I ended up in JBL... not my favourite aircraft (only because I hate the 4 point harness as it is an aerobat, although I may have changed my mind about this ;)... I also decided to top up the tanks as it only had a little over one hours worth of fuel on board... which proved very interesting with 2 people on board and a nice 25 degree hot sunny day!
We took off (woohoo 100'/minute climb!) and Rob simulated an engine failure after take off... As we had tracked out quite a way due to the low climb rate, I was conveniently located right between the 2 rows of high tension powerlines... grrr! So I did the best I could and headed for something resembling a landing area...
After that we headed out towards the training area via Drury... at which point Rob asked me to point out the training area boundary's... I was not 100% sure and the look on his face told me that was black mark #1 (Actually #2 but more on that later)
We headed up toward Pukekohe, and did some Turns (medium, steep & compass) and some stalls (Basic + Approach Config)... and then Rob told me to head towards the Pokeno paddocks to demonstrate a forced landing... At this point I went to change over to the radio frequency for the Mercer MBZ (Mandatory Broadcast Zone) and Rob suggested I probably should have done that a little earlier (black mark #2)...
I pulled off what I thought was a good forced landing, we hit some massive sink coming off the hunua ranges on the downwind leg, but I made the decision to adjust so thought I had done a good job in the circumstances... Turns out I was in for a surprise in the debrief...
Following this, some simulated bad weather flying and a coastal reversal turn... then back to NZAR for some circuit work.
Whats this?
Something similiar to the view from a C152 when its upside down! :D
On the way home, Rob asked me, with a big grin on his face, if I had ever been upside down in an aircraft... "No, but it sounds like fun!" I said... so he demonstrated what he called a 'Bread Roll'... a combination of an Aileron Roll and a Barrel Roll... not the prettiest aerobatic maneuver when viewed by spectators, but designed for the comfort of the passenger...
I dont really care what it was called or the reason he choose it instead of a loop... it was freaking awesome! So much so, that I have decided I will definitely be getting an aerobatics rating...
And of course, I now have a new appreciation for the 4 point harness in JBL! hahaha
Back to the field for an overhead join and then a normal circuit, a go-around and finally a shortfield landing onto the grass (which Rob reckoned was up to CPL standard!)
Then it was time for a debrief where I got mixed reviews:
- I forgot to use carb heat on the engine failure after takeoff... DOH! can you say "School boy error"?
- I did not make a call when vacating the traffic pattern, not technically required as I had advised intentions during the take-off call, but still good airmanship.
- Training Area boundary knowledge was deficient... thats what happens when you lose your study day... oops!
- Did not switch over to the Mercer MBZ frequency soon enough... technically I was not in the area, so I was OK, but again, good airmanship (as Rob put it 'Attention to Detail')
- Was gliding at 70kts, rather than best glide of 65 and mixed up the procedure for the Forced Landing and did trouble checks before I had picked out a landing spot... I actually dispute this a little, as I was taught as part of the initial actions to do a quick check to ensure Fuel Cock is on, Mixture is Rich, Ignition is on Both and Primer is locked... He thought I was doing the full-blown trouble checks... nevermind, as it turns out this slight misunderstanding has had a very positive outcome.
Apart from that, everything else was good...
The verdict: 50/50... if he did not know me and I was just 'some guy' going for a flight test he would be seriously torn as to whether or not he would pass me...
He highlighted 3 main concerns:
- TA boundary knowledge... a simple thing to fix really, get out the map and learn!
- Mercer MBZ... just have to remember, and I usually do...
- Forced Landing... more practice required, although I still thought my procedure was OK
If I had got the TA Boundary right, and had changed frequencies when I usually do he reckons that the verdict would be more like 75/25 to passing... but the little things add up...
So I asked what he suggested I do... which was to go and do some forced landing revision with another instructor and if that proved OK, then I should consider booking a flight test...
So, we found one of the other instructors, Phil, who I had never flown with before who was willing to go up for an hour... before the flight we had a quick briefing and ran through the procedure and I got the feeling Phil was a little unsure of my knowledge...
We took off, EFATO again... I was prepared with the carb heat, but was so concerned finding somewhere to put it down, that I got no-where near the 65knots best glide speed... I got as slow as 60 and as fast as 75...
Then cruising up the Hunua Valley, a simulated engine failure and I just muffed it up completely... could not find a place to land, did not trim correctly... basically I panicked...
Which pretty much set the tone for the next hour, as I just struggled to get it together... I'd like to put it down to being a bit tired (it was after 5pm by now) and I am sure that did not help, but in all honesty, it was just because I was not able to recall the procedure automatically and had to think my way through it, which meant I was not flying the aircraft correctly (struggling to get trimmed at 65kts etc.)...
Then we headed back and I did a nice overhead join and a picture perfect glide approach onto the grass...
During the debrief Phil commented that he thought the issue was the lack of automatic recall. There was nothing wrong with my actual flying and that the glide approach at the end proved that if I was not having to try to think my way through a forced landing, that I could fly the aircraft to a very high standard.
What he then suggested was rather than practicing forced landings in an aircraft at $160/hr, that I get a model plane, picture a wind direction (toss up a card with an arrow) and then walk through the procedure using a landing spot (piece of paper) in the middle of the floor.
Then once I could walk the entire procedure without any umm's or ah's (ie. having to think about the procedure) that I should go for another revision flight with an instructor...
This has turned out to be possibly the best piece of advice I have received since starting flying... I have been driving the wife nuts walking around in circles in my living room with a paper dart going through the forced landing procedure... although she has taken to the idea of 'random' engine failures... I asked her to just randomly call an engine failure (while we're watching tv, driving in the car, doing the dishes etc) and then I have to run through the procedure.
And it has worked like a charm... in just 2 days, I can recite it without having to think about it... and can do it while multitasking...
I have also sat down with my navigation chart and committed the training area boundary to memory ;)
So I think another forced landing revision flight and I should be ready for the flight test...
In case you were wondering the forced landing procedure is something like this:
- Carb Heat HOT
- Trim for Best Glide... 65kts in a C152
- Transponder to 7700... some debate about this, but Rob says do it here
- Confirm wind direction
- Pick a paddock using the 7 S's and the Big E:
- Size... the bigger the better
- Shape... a circular field is the best as its the same size from all directions!
- Slope... landing uphill is preferable as it shortens the stopping distance
- Surface... smooth and flat would be good... bumpy and muddy not so great
- Surrounds... watch out for trees on the proposed final flight path, power lines etc
- Sun... if the sun is low in the sky, will we be blinded on final approach
- Stock... empty paddocks are preferable as hitting a cow at 50kts is going to make a mess
- Elevation... need to estimate as we make our 1000' point and 1500' area as above ground level
- Turn towards it... this may just buy us some precious time which equals altitude
- Plan the Descent:
- Pick the 1/3 aiming point
- Choose the 1000' reference point abeam the 'threshold' of our paddock
- Choose our upwind 1500' reference area
- Trouble Checks:
- Carb Heat - Cycle
- Mixture - Cycle
- Fuel - Contents?, Cocks - ON, Pumps - ON, Primer - LOCKED
- Ignition - LEFT, RIGHT, BOTH
- Check for Partial Power... cycle the throttle
- Transponder to 7700 and make a mayday call... traditionally this is where the transponder has been in the sequence although some events in recent history have highlighted that in New Zealands mountainous terrain that the sooner you set it, the better chance you have of being picked up on secondary radar
- Passenger Brief... let them know whats going on and not to panic, what to do after landing and to tighten seat belts and stow loose/sharp objects etc.
- Secure the aircraft... basically shut everything down to try to minimise the chances of fire etc. if 'Bad Things'(tm) happen on landing
This flight: 1.1 Dual + 0.9 Dual
Total Hours: 82.9 (64.4 Dual, 18.5 Solo, 5.1 IFR)
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