Mon Dec 06, 2021 6:05 pm
#1886995
I've recently started flying lessons at Cambridge Aero Club, and since I've found these forums very helpful in figuring out where and how to start (e.g. MSGr's thread about costs), I thought I would say hi!
After having occasionally thought about giving flying a go for over 20 years (I'm now 38), but never really having the time / funds / motivation to start despite a glider trial flight and a microlight trial flight many years ago, I finally got in touch with Cambridge Aero Club back in September. I was told that the way to start was to book a trial flight, so that's what I did. 2 weeks later, on the day of the flight, the weather was not cooperating so we had to reschedule for the next available slot - which was a couple of weeks later, in early October. Of course, that day came around with a nice foggy morning, and it was postponed again - and then again - but eventually near the end of October, it finally happened! It was actually quite a gloomy day (overcast below 2000ft) but was quite fun flying just below the clouds and even over some scattered patches of cloud. I hadn't actually even thought of the weather being a big factor when I first booked the trial lesson... the way things turned out, it was probably the best way for me to learn an important lesson, get used to being happy with flights being postponed days or even weeks, and have the right expectations for the future!
The instructors and staff at Cambridge were all really helpful and friendly, which encouraged me to start booking lots of lessons - although I quickly found that there was quite a busy calendar and it was tricky to find a slot with a free aeroplane and instructor less than about 3-4 weeks out. I decided to learn on C152's since the school had 3 aircraft and they were a bit cheaper than the C172's, even though I am quite tall I can fit in the C152 OK.
I managed to get my first lesson booked in just over a week after the trial and had a great time learning Effects of Controls, although all of the associated pre-flight steps on the ground were quite overwhelming - checklists, radio calls, transponder, taxying, engine checks, instruments, etc (especially since the school C152s have Garmin G5s as well as the traditional analog instruments). That, together with the purchase of the various Pooley's flight training books for the theory, really put into perspective just how much there is to learn!
Since then I've had 3 more lessons, doing Ex 6, 7, 8 and 9, plus a taxying lesson (and about the same number of lessons cancelled - I'm expecting tomorrow's to be called off as well as I seem to have a habit of booking in the middle of storms). I do enjoy what seems to be a very steep learning curve, as there's always something new to try, and lots to remember for next time - no doubt some things become a bit more "automatic" and require less conscious thought as you get used to them, but I'm not at that stage yet! I guess most people here will have had similar experiences in their early lessons, so I thought I would give a quick list of some of the things I have learned so far that I probably wouldn't have figured out by myself:
- Taxying has more to it than I thought! I'm getting used to steering with my feet now (difficult coming from a car) but still haven't got the hang of keeping the yoke in the right place depending on whether going upwind / downwind / crosswind. I know the theory but actually figuring out which way I'm pointing relative to the wind is hard enough, then actually making sure the yoke is in the right place while steering round corners with feet is even harder!
- This might seem obvious to others - but when I got the booklet of checklists, I incorrectly thought I would have to memorise them all, and started to attempt to do so! Things became much easier in my second lesson when my instructor told me I should just take the checklists into the plane and read them as needed.
- I am aware that the instructors are handling most of the radio stuff during the flight - at the moment I occasionally pick up what the tower is saying (generally to other aircraft) when in flight, but I think it will take quite a long time to get used to the phraseology and be able to listen / understand while doing other things
- There are little recessed handles on the top of the coaming of the C152 that you can't see, but can grab onto to make it easier to adjust your seat
- The mixture control has not only a push button to adjust it, but is also threaded so you can turn it for fine adjustment
- I've had 3 instructors already (my first one got a new job and had to leave after the first lesson!) and it's interesting to see the differences in approach - especially the different suggested minor variations to the printed checklists which they don't always agree about - but all have been very good.
- There seems to be a lot to learn for the theory tests... however I seem to be able to "pass" the mock exams on PPLTutor most of the time for the books I've read so far (Air Law, Meteorology and a couple more). I haven't tried AirQuiz yet, but might do. Not sure how realistic / broad coverage the practice questions are compared to the "real thing", but I guess I have plenty of time before needing to do any exams.
Anyway, that's turned into quite an epic - time to stop! Really looking forward to the next few months of lessons, can't wait to start trying circuits... and thanks to all whose posts on this forum have helped encourage me to take the plunge!
Eric
After having occasionally thought about giving flying a go for over 20 years (I'm now 38), but never really having the time / funds / motivation to start despite a glider trial flight and a microlight trial flight many years ago, I finally got in touch with Cambridge Aero Club back in September. I was told that the way to start was to book a trial flight, so that's what I did. 2 weeks later, on the day of the flight, the weather was not cooperating so we had to reschedule for the next available slot - which was a couple of weeks later, in early October. Of course, that day came around with a nice foggy morning, and it was postponed again - and then again - but eventually near the end of October, it finally happened! It was actually quite a gloomy day (overcast below 2000ft) but was quite fun flying just below the clouds and even over some scattered patches of cloud. I hadn't actually even thought of the weather being a big factor when I first booked the trial lesson... the way things turned out, it was probably the best way for me to learn an important lesson, get used to being happy with flights being postponed days or even weeks, and have the right expectations for the future!
The instructors and staff at Cambridge were all really helpful and friendly, which encouraged me to start booking lots of lessons - although I quickly found that there was quite a busy calendar and it was tricky to find a slot with a free aeroplane and instructor less than about 3-4 weeks out. I decided to learn on C152's since the school had 3 aircraft and they were a bit cheaper than the C172's, even though I am quite tall I can fit in the C152 OK.
I managed to get my first lesson booked in just over a week after the trial and had a great time learning Effects of Controls, although all of the associated pre-flight steps on the ground were quite overwhelming - checklists, radio calls, transponder, taxying, engine checks, instruments, etc (especially since the school C152s have Garmin G5s as well as the traditional analog instruments). That, together with the purchase of the various Pooley's flight training books for the theory, really put into perspective just how much there is to learn!
Since then I've had 3 more lessons, doing Ex 6, 7, 8 and 9, plus a taxying lesson (and about the same number of lessons cancelled - I'm expecting tomorrow's to be called off as well as I seem to have a habit of booking in the middle of storms). I do enjoy what seems to be a very steep learning curve, as there's always something new to try, and lots to remember for next time - no doubt some things become a bit more "automatic" and require less conscious thought as you get used to them, but I'm not at that stage yet! I guess most people here will have had similar experiences in their early lessons, so I thought I would give a quick list of some of the things I have learned so far that I probably wouldn't have figured out by myself:
- Taxying has more to it than I thought! I'm getting used to steering with my feet now (difficult coming from a car) but still haven't got the hang of keeping the yoke in the right place depending on whether going upwind / downwind / crosswind. I know the theory but actually figuring out which way I'm pointing relative to the wind is hard enough, then actually making sure the yoke is in the right place while steering round corners with feet is even harder!
- This might seem obvious to others - but when I got the booklet of checklists, I incorrectly thought I would have to memorise them all, and started to attempt to do so! Things became much easier in my second lesson when my instructor told me I should just take the checklists into the plane and read them as needed.
- I am aware that the instructors are handling most of the radio stuff during the flight - at the moment I occasionally pick up what the tower is saying (generally to other aircraft) when in flight, but I think it will take quite a long time to get used to the phraseology and be able to listen / understand while doing other things
- There are little recessed handles on the top of the coaming of the C152 that you can't see, but can grab onto to make it easier to adjust your seat
- The mixture control has not only a push button to adjust it, but is also threaded so you can turn it for fine adjustment
- I've had 3 instructors already (my first one got a new job and had to leave after the first lesson!) and it's interesting to see the differences in approach - especially the different suggested minor variations to the printed checklists which they don't always agree about - but all have been very good.
- There seems to be a lot to learn for the theory tests... however I seem to be able to "pass" the mock exams on PPLTutor most of the time for the books I've read so far (Air Law, Meteorology and a couple more). I haven't tried AirQuiz yet, but might do. Not sure how realistic / broad coverage the practice questions are compared to the "real thing", but I guess I have plenty of time before needing to do any exams.
Anyway, that's turned into quite an epic - time to stop! Really looking forward to the next few months of lessons, can't wait to start trying circuits... and thanks to all whose posts on this forum have helped encourage me to take the plunge!
Eric