Learning to fly, or thinking of learning? Post your questions, comments and experiences here

Moderator: AndyR

By MachFlyer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1663362
Not seen any updates recently on newish students so I thought I’d post a quick progress report.
So far I have flown just over 12 hours including my trial lesson, done straightish & levelish, various types of climb & descent, turning climbs/descends, slow flight, changing speed of flight, takeoffs nearly always now unless a bit too much crosswind, most proud that I’ve done a couple of unassisted landings but a few more where my FI had some input. Next to be doing is stalling when weather allows.
Doing a bit more radio work with each lesson now (full ATC where I fly so should be good practice for the future).
Been reading my books & practising exams on phone app & practicing a bit of nav on my charts in the house.
Only “downside” I’ve found is that I’m finding out that the more I learn, the more I realise how much I’ve still got to learn :shock:
No real milestones yet although in my own mind landing the plane unassisted was one.
Would love to hear how other students are getting on with their courses & any tips/pointers they may have learned on the way?
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By Paul_Sengupta
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1663404
MachFlyer wrote:straightish & levelish


:thumright:

MachFlyer wrote:Doing a bit more radio work with each lesson now (full ATC where I fly so should be good practice for the future).


One thing I would say, make sure you get sufficient exposure to AFIS and A/G airfields, especially with overhead joins. Sometimes people who learn at one sort of airfield struggle a bit at others. As I learnt in the US, I had little idea what to do with AFIS and A/G though I figured it out eventually!
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By David Wood
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1663419
MachFlyer wrote:Only “downside” I’ve found is that I’m finding out that the more I learn, the more I realise how much I’ve still got to learn :shock:

40 years on I'm finding that that's still the case! One of the joys of flying is that there is always something else to learn and scarcely a flight from which we don't still learn something.
A wise pilot once said: "this may be the zillionth time you've done this trip, but its the first time you've flown this flight".
If you approach the planning and execution of each flight in that frame of mind then you'll never stop learning and you'll always be improving.
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By Nick T
#1663420
Paul_Sengupta wrote:
MachFlyer wrote:Doing a bit more radio work with each lesson now (full ATC where I fly so should be good practice for the future).


One thing I would say, make sure you get sufficient exposure to AFIS and A/G airfields, especially with overhead joins. Sometimes people who learn at one sort of airfield struggle a bit at others. As I learnt in the US, I had little idea what to do with AFIS and A/G though I figured it out eventually!

What he said. I learned at East Mids Airport - full ATC. Although I visited two (yes, two!) A/G airfields as part of my training (only one of which I was shown how to do an OHJ), once I got my shareoplane at Nottingham it took a bit of adjustment to both the R/T and general airfield operations (incl. a much more 'compact' circuit) before I felt fully comfortable.
By MachFlyer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1663472
Thanks for your input everyone it is appreciated. The stuff about other airfields and OHJ etc noted, I have visited Barton a couple of times (in car) with my trusty scanner to get a feel of how it works there & plan to visit Sleap/Welshpool as well in the car, as you say it is different (not easier but different) there were quite a few aircraft of various types in the circuit when I was last there I was struggling to keep up where everyone was when I was on the ground never mind in the air :shock:
By riverrock
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1663483
There is nothing stopping you / your instructor asking for an OHJ at a full ATC airfield (I do OHJs from time to time at Prestwick, which they are entirely happy with, when I haven't done one for a wee while).
As runways are typically longer, it is easier to practice (as you have more time to descend deadside, travel downwind etc). Hopefully your instructor will get you to go to a variety of airfields (when I trained we went to uncontrolled and FISO airfields as well as the full ATC home base).
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By Steve C64
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1665249
11 hours in at Blackbushe in Hants : and loving it/overwhelmed/loving it in sequence !

Here's something that I found to be really helpful - Get hold of a pocket digital sound recorder (Tascam DR05 or similar) and an external lapel mic (lavalier type). Pop the mic inside one of your headset cups , the over the ear style, and you're set for sound recording the lesson. Not broadcast quality admittedly, but for listening back after the lesson it has been an invaluable aid. No one likes listening to their attempts at radio calls especially when the workload is high, seems the power of normal speech is easily degraded on the 11th bumpy downwind leg !
You can get the connectors and plugs for a fully in-line set up , but it's actually less cabling to plug in with the mic in the earphone cup and it works a treat.

Seriously, it makes for rich analysis in your own time and it's surprising the depth of picture it re-creates. I've also had it recording (with integral mic) for the pre- flight instructor briefing and the post flight debrief , which is the discussion that I can never recall after all the excitement of the previous hour! Plug in and listen in the car on the way to work the next day and you'll be calling out the check lists at every traffic light.

Etiquette: Ask your instructor first. It's not like you're rigging up a Go-pro camera which comes with all sorts of implications, but best not to presume.
Note: this won't help much if you have the type of instructor who just points at instruments to prompt for height loss or missed call out items on the check lists!
First one to solo : Good luck :thumleft:
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By Rob P
#1665294
Loving the updates - keep them coming please.

Rob P
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By GrahamB
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1665449
MachFlyer wrote:Thanks for your input everyone it is appreciated. The stuff about other airfields and OHJ etc noted, I have visited Barton a couple of times (in car) with my trusty scanner to get a feel of how it works there & plan to visit Sleap/Welshpool as well in the car, as you say it is different (not easier but different) there were quite a few aircraft of various types in the circuit when I was last there I was struggling to keep up where everyone was when I was on the ground never mind in the air :shock:

PM me if you are coming to Welshpool - we can meet up, and if it suits go for a bimble.
By Sajymundo
#1665496
Trial flight completed last week Cumberland airport - what a buzz! Instructor was brilliant, allowed me to fly most of the hour and shared a whole bunch of knowledge. Need to get back up soon but planning to get my medicals out of the way first.

Was surprised how tight the cabin was for the Cessna 152.

First entry into my log book - Done!
By MachFlyer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1665534
GrahamB wrote:
MachFlyer wrote:Thanks for your input everyone it is appreciated. The stuff about other airfields and OHJ etc noted, I have visited Barton a couple of times (in car) with my trusty scanner to get a feel of how it works there & plan to visit Sleap/Welshpool as well in the car, as you say it is different (not easier but different) there were quite a few aircraft of various types in the circuit when I was last there I was struggling to keep up where everyone was when I was on the ground never mind in the air :shock:

PM me if you are coming to Welshpool - we can meet up, and if it suits go for a bimble.


That’s very generous of you Graham and will definitely let you know when I am coming down, thanks :D