Often go awry, as the quote goes...
I've been planning since June to get my Instrument Rating renewal completed with and ILS endorsement added. The yearly "competency" currency was due to expire on 12 July, so I started nice and early with some simulator and practice flights, hoping to book the Flight Examiner and get everything sorted in a timely manner.
However, the Flight Examiner was having his own currency issues... which caused a couple of weeks delay. Then the aircraft was out of action, then I was unavailable, then the weather was crap, then the instructor was unavailable, then I needed some recurrency training, then the weather was crap, then a new Flight Examiner was the choice, only he was waiting on various tests/paperwork etc, then the weather was crap... ad infinitum... *le sigh*... I had almost given up all hope of ever completing my renewal! :-/
Last week was looking good, I had a "practice run" on the Tuesday, that highlighted some points for improvement and was all set for the "test proper" on the Wednesday. I awoke to grey, dreary skies and rain on the roof... not necessarily a problem, that is what instrument flying is all about... so I checked the weather... The forecast was less than desirable, rain, strong winds and embedded "CB's" (Cumulonimbus... aka Thunderstorms) with accompanying turbulence and hail :-(
I made a nice early call to cancel and rebook for this week... and had it locked in for Wednesday. I then got a call on Tuesday from a 3rd party, who seemed to think that my renewal had been transferred to a "ferry flight" of a completely different aircraft type (Tecnam Twin instead of Partenavia), from a different airfield (Matamata instead of Ardmore) flying a different route (Matamata, Hamilton, Auckland, Ardmore) to the one expected and briefed (Ardmore, Whenuapai, Great Barrier, Ardmore)!!?! Several texts and phone calls later and it was all sorted. I'd still be in the Partenavia from Ardmore, just leaving later so the Flight Examiner could ferry the Tecnam up to Ardmore first.
No problems with a late departure, more time to prepare in the morning (perhaps even a bit of a sleep in! ;-) and less rushing about and less stress... or so I thought!
I woke up on Wednesday to blue skies and sunshine. Things were looking good. I headed out to Ardmore, preflighted and started flight planning based on my expected route. All I needed was the Flight Examiner to confirm a departure time so I could file flight plans with air traffic control and I was good to go.
And that is where it started to go a little pear shaped. I waited... I waited some more... I rechecked the weather... I rechecked the NOTAMs... I waited... I had lunch... I waited... Finally, I got the call.
The Examiner was delayed about 3 hours due to problems picking up the Tecnam... and I was struggling to get a training slot at Whenuapai, due to the military training being conducted in conjuction with the Australian airforce. I managed to get a tentative booking, but was going to be cutting it fine timewise. So much for a nice relaxed flight. The rush was on. I resisted the urge the rush though, fearing I might make mistakes if I didn't take my time and do all my checks thoroughly. A lesson learned from a previous flight. "More speed, less haste" etc...
It did mean that I was about 10 minutes late departing. Then due to traffic, was vectored around a bit and given a "non-standard" join onto the VOR arc at Whenuapai, where I intercepted it from a "random" course, rather than tracking via a radial. Thankfully, it was a scenario that I had already experienced once before (and gotten rather confused by, but had then had a subsequent session in the simulator to work it all out), so I nailed it! :-D
I was still concerned that we might run into trouble time wise, but as it turned out... even thought we arrived in Whenuapai's airspace about 20 minutes late, we were able to get our approaches and vacate before their exercises started. I guess we weren't the only ones running a little late!! :-P
I won't bore you with the details of the test, it was for the most part average at best... certainly not one of my better days at the controls and the phrase "skin of your teeth" was mentioned :-/ I was a bit disappointed with myself, as I know I can do much better and I pride myself on flying well, but I had passed and picked up my ILS endorsement (and some very useful reminders not to neglect the basics!!) along the way.
I now have the complete set of navigation aids (ILS, VOR, NDB, GPS) for my single pilot, multi-engine instrument rating... and a V. large hole in my bank account :-/
Hopefully, things will go a bit smoother next year. For now, the focus will be back into the books and studying for ATPL (Air Transport Pilot License) exams... and the never ending quest for a flying job ;-)
This was an awesome currency check
1 year ago
