1006...

or half of 2012... I can't believe it is June already... YIKES!!?!

So let's review... since getting back from my world travels (unfortunately, the only flying I did after leaving the UK was as a passenger on various airlines) I have managed to:

• Completed a BFR
• find a "Co-Pilot" and take her for a couple of flights ;-)
• Do an aerobatics ground theory course
• Get a type rating in a Partenavia P68-C and a Tecnam P2006T Twin
• Go for a ride in the back seat of a "Chippie"... aka De Havilland DHC-1 Chipmunk
• Hoon around the countryside being "co-pilot" for a friend who was racking up multi time in the Partenavia
• Win a "Basic Instrument Flying" competition :-)
• Not do so well on a "Non-instrument Circuit" competition :-P
• Do half of my MEIR Training (more on this below)

So a bit of a mixed bag really... :-/

The main goal, being the MEIR, has proven to be somewhat elusive... initially due to delays getting the aircraft, then, as the aircraft is actually being borrowed from another organisation on a part-time basis, getting it back.  

The short version of the long and complicated story is that due to some abysmal weather, a whole bunch of flight tests were delayed, meaning the aircraft was required elsewhere... then it ran out of hours and had to go in for the required maintenance & checks... all of which resulted in me having to postpone my own flight test.  

Unfortunately, I had already committed to some non-aviation related activities in the month or so after my scheduled test date, so I've had to delay even further... *sigh*...

I did actually manage to get a few flights done... and even did some ferry flying of the twin to and from it's base in Matamata... so I get to put some numbers in the Multi-Engine PinC column in my logbook... yay!

Climbing out in IMC on the Surrey 3 Golf Departure

Getting vectored around NZAA heading for NZWP

Inbound on the VORTAC, Runway 21 at NZWP

Ending as it began, in hard IMC on the RNAV into NZAR

Anyway, for now, back into the MEIR training... hoping to get it squared away early July...

watch this space!

End of days...

5 months, 19 days... Or 379.0 hours PinC :-)

And so the big UK adventure comes to a close... A "brief" summary follows ;-)

I've visited Wales, Scotland and most parts of middle & southern England... sadly, no (single engine) light aircraft allowed over London :-(

Dealt with ATC (civilian, military AND US military!), UK immigration and the UK insurance industry...

Worked around gliders, moto-gliders, micro-lights and what passes for "summer" here in ol' Blighty :-P

Had fuel leaks, gearbox leaks and radio failures...

I've PPR'd ("Prior Permission Required"), penetrated a MATZ, transited a zone and operated in an AIAA (Area of Intense Aerial Activity)...

I've had basic service, radar service and "no service" (Tatenhill, I'm looking at you!)

"Coasted out" and (thankfully) "Coasted in"...

Seen Tornados, Apaches, a Tucano and a Red Arrow...

Got to report "Visual with the Fokker"...

And most of all... I've had FUN! :-)

I now fully appreciate why, despite the bad rap that GA (General Aviation) has, that it really is true that it is the most "fun" you'll have in your aviation career...

Time for a bit of a holiday I think ;-)

One Hundred...

July 2011: 100.1 hours :D

Despite the best efforts of the english summer, I've managed to accumulate 100 hours in one calendar month...

Although, the weather has had the last laugh, as while today is blue skies and sunshine, there is just too much haze :(

On the plus side, it means I get a nice sunny Sunday to head out and enjoy the countryside... as opposed to the usual "off day" being couped up indoors all day due to bad weather :)

Independence Day

3 months & 200.1 hours added to the logbook! But more importantly, I'm still having fun :-)

And as a (very) wise man once told me... "Find something you enjoy doing and you'll never work a day in your life... Even if it doesn't pay a lot, make sure it makes you happy"...

Thanks Dad, best advice you ever gave me :-)

In other news... I think I now TRULY understand why they call light aircraft "BugSmashers™"...

Before...



7.4 hours later...




Dammit... I spent over an hour cleaning the aircraft yesterday afternoon... and I think it might actually have more bugs on it now than before I cleaned it!! :-(

500

So in the 6 weeks that I've been enjoying what "Mother England" has to offer... I've been North-ish, South, East and West... I've seen Fenlands, Moors and what the English call "hills"... I've had CAVOK, haze, Fog and barely VFR minimums... I've had sunshine, rain and 20kt crosswinds!... I've had "Basic" service, no service and penetrated a MATZ (Military Aerodrome Traffic Zone)... I've dodged gliders, motor-gliders & micro-lights... I've seen some interesting crop circles, a giant chalk horse, more windfarms than you can shake a stick at, "secret" military installations and a massive fire (see below)... I've even been asked by a prison (via the local airfield info service, kinda like UNICOM at Ardmore) to "move along" :-/

But most of all, I've racked up 102.3 hours... which by reckoning puts me at a shade over 500 hours Total Time! :)

It's kinda scary to think that in just 6 weeks, I have managed to accumulate 1/4 of the amount that had previously taken me 4 or 5 YEARS to get!

In Short... I've had a bucket load of fun so far... Touch wood, it'll stay that way :)

3-bladed, Jet-A1 powered Cessna 172


An interesting mix of old and new


Odds of flying this morning? about 0%


CAVOK :)



Kyoto Protocol... we've heard of it


What Carbon Footprint?


There IS a windfarm there somewhere... Honest!


Secret Squirrels... Shhhh!


Giddy up!


Aliens or bored teenagers?


or Alien teenagers?!?!!

The other side...

of the world that is... :)

So, I'm currently enjoying the english countryside... which I've discovered can be an interesting place to navigate around.

Largely because the area I'm in (East Midlands) is about as flat as a billiard table! Which can make it a little disorientating, as you can't just be "Oh, there is the ABC ranges over there" or "Look, Mt XYZ is over there"... Plus all the villages/towns look the same and they're fairly close to one another, so it can be difficult to work out which one you're actually overhead!

I think the biggest problem I've had so far, has just been the position of the sun... As opposed to New Zealand, where the sun tends to occupy the northern part of the sky, here in *cough*"sunny"*cough* England, it likes to live in the southern skies... which has been messing with my head a little bit and throwing my natural sense of direction out... as I keep looking at the sun and going, north is that way! Only to have the compass disagree when I use it to confirm :P

There are a few bonuses tho... like the fact that the place is so flat means that there isn't much to hit, so most of the minimum safe altitudes listed on the charts are under 1000' :P It also means you're spoilt for choice when it comes to options for forced landings! And because there are so many suitable places to put an airfield, the english went ahead and put them in! I actually think it's a throwback to World War II, with many of the airfields being ex-airforce... in any case, it's quite difficult to not be near an airfield, which means there are plenty of places to visit, so hopefully I'll see a few during my travels over the next few months :)

Success, Postponement & Commercial Reality

So I successfully completed my Multi-Rating... spending a small fortune along the way, desperately trying to maintain control of a twin with the benefit of only one engine in all sorts of situations (during take-off roll, after take-off, in the cruise, in the circuit, on approach, on short final below DA (Decision Altitude) but having some of the most fun I've ever had whilst flying!

The emergency gear extension was interesting... opening a little hatch in the floor and using a little metal bar to turn a small value that just drops the gear down using gravity. Was somewhat re-assuring to know that in the event of the electric hydraulic pump failing, it might still be possible to get the wheels down...

An engine shutdown... and a (thankfully successful) mid-air restart... I have to say, despite the smile on my face (see below), flying around with the prop completely stopped was a little unnerving... especially after having spent 300+ hours in single engine aircraft where a stopped prop = BAD! :P

Look Ma, No Engine!


Then came the realisation that I was not going to be able to continue with my Instrument Rating... I had hoped to do it in the Duchess, but unfortunately, several critical pieces of avionics decided to release "The Magic Smoke™" rendering it unuseable for IFR flight :(

So I decided that I could just switch to the Partenavia P68 and do my Multi Instrument rating in that... but was unable to secure a test date at a suitable time that would leave me enough time to train, complete the test and make it to the UK in a timely manner (more on this later)...

So the decision was made, very reluctantly, to shelve the Instrument Rating until I return from my Northern Hemisphere adventure... As it turns out, due to several other factors, such as the Christchurch Earthquake and navigation equipment maintenance, there is pretty much no instrument training occurring at present so the decision was most definitely the right one.

So I was wondering what I was going to do to keep busy... at which point I was then asked to go and do some more aerial photography, only this time, away from "Home"... So I packed some clothes in a bag, put some spare oil in the back of DJU, made sure I had the fuel cards onboard and headed south.

"Jules" looking awesome in front of Mt Egmont (NZSD)


12 days & 41.3 hours "down country" later... I've seen a fair bit of the Taranaki & Manawatu... Managed to operate in and around the airforce base at Ohakea without annoying anyone, chatted with Police and Airforce crew at Foxpine (NZFP) who were out "doing some gardening" in an Airforce Iroquois helicopter ;), met some real characters like John the Pom, all the while "enjoying" some of the realities of commercial flying, and having a total blast...

"Jules" tucked up ready for bed at Foxpine (NZFP)


Now I mentioned the UK earlier... well this is one of the reasons I'm delaying the Instrument Flying... I've been offered the opportunity to head to the UK to do some flying up there for 6 months over the northern summer (yay! 4 summers in a row!!) So, as soon as I get back from the current round of flying about the countryside (currently in a Motel room in Masterton!?!?) I'll be packing up my life and heading to Ol' Blighty...

Fun times...