[Milty]

All sounds like good progress and all very normal (but nonetheless exciting for you).

I made up a nav checklist that I found helped. I’ve attached a picture here but I can’t seem to upload the word file. pm me an email address if you want the word file. It’s obviously based around me at Glos but you’ll get the idea. I used this through my training and still use the front sheet now, filling it in from SD. It’s handy for frequencies and headings but I don’t fill in the times any more (but could do if SD bails out).



The basic premise of the nav part was that there’s a full plog on the back but I transposed the readily needed bits to the front, e,g. Heading, times and frequencies. The back page with the plog details is upside down so that you can just flip it up and check more detail like height etc.

You’ll also see that I had a few prompts on there of radio calls, Freda, hasell etc. I found after a while I don’t really use them but they are a nice comfort blanket when you have the inevitable brain fart.

I’m also left handed. It is a bit of a bind as the aircraft I fly all have PTT on LHS. I found I flew a lot with pen in hand and yes, position the knee board on right leg saves knocking left arm on the door while writing. I rarely strap my knee board along my leg, preferring to have it across my leg.

[Antjrice]

Many thanks for sharing this @Milty

I'd missed this before my Solo Landaway yesterday but came up with something very similar which shows how intuitive your method is!

Indeed, yesterday was my first solo landaway; Shore-Lydd-Shoreham. Whilst the first Solo leaves the biggest emotive mark, yesterday was my most important lesson so far, not only due to it's prescibed content but also circumstance.

Shoreham to Lydd and back is a very straightforward route. If you fly it in a virtual straight line, you're overhead the clearest landmarks in the form of sizable towns and also you've got the south coast to your right.

Notams were all as expected with the gliding site at Ringmer and laser site to be avoided, easy enough with the A27 and Hailsham providing reference points.

Set off easy enough with everything laid out in front of me. Made a mistake early doors as I read Track off my Plog rather than Heading. Once i realised, i decided i'll run a highlighter down the HdgM column in the future to avoid that again.

Changing frequency to Farnborough Radar (or not as the case was) is where it got interesting. Farnborough Radar was not reachable (turns out they were closed for a short while) so after 2 attempts, i decided to try London information instead.

Whilst contacting, I heard London ask my for my 'height'? This completely confused me so i gave my altitude and QNH. Again, I heard the controller say 'aircraft height?', I repeated with 'Altitude is 2000ft, QNH 1019?'. Once more; 'aircraft height?'. I realised this could go on all day so i said in plain english 'I'm sorry but can you help me out, i don't understand what you're asking me?'. I then heard the controller say 'I need your aircraft type '...which i quickly answered. The cause of this is that i was so drilled into what to say during the en-route service request, it never occured to me that i would be asked for my aircraft type at this point'. Good lesson.

The moment this was resolved, I was then horrified to see a number of paragliders below, and a few miles ahead. I did not expect this as there was no Notam and i hadn't seen it in that area beofre. I decide to remove myself from the situation, and did a turn and slow climb to the south in order to give this area a big swerve. My next waypoint was Hailsham so easy to get back on track once the paragliders were well behind me but i had not been prepared for this. I'd unwitting built up a sence that it's up to me to manage traffic, but my experience up to this point has just been other planes and helicopters, and also manage my route in planning around Notams and the charted areas. I wasn't mentally prepared for this new scenario. I think i dealt with it the right way but i felt pretty wretched in the moment. It was a valuable lesson in decision making in the air, irrespective of whether it was on paper before take off or not.

Those two moments, back to back shook me up a little but everything else went very well to plan. Loved landing at Lydd - paid my fee and then instantly said goodbye. The Office Manager said somewhat surprised, 'you're leaving already?', to which i simply and cheerfully replied, 'Need to get back for Kick-Off'. Flight back was great too. Farnborough Radar was back on line and i only interacted when joining and leaving the frequency.

Upon arriving at Shoreham, the frequency was a little busy so I did an orbit before being cleared to enter the ATC - despite it being the first time i'd done this (other than turns training), i didn't hesitate which felt like positive decision making probably attuned from my experience on the way to Lydd. Might seem like a small thing but it felt very confidence building to quickly make a decision and act on it. Also did my first solo base join - where have these been all my life? I was down in moments.

The way i had the information laid out and recorded on my kneeboard was also a world of my previous flight and my note taking, and being able to quickly use that info showed it.

Feels like my biggest and one of the most valuable training lessons so far and bundles to take from it. Dual to Southend next and then QXC. It's absolutely racing by!

[Milty]

Many thanks for sharing this @Milty

The Office Manager said somewhat surprised, 'you're leaving already?', to which i simply and cheerfully replied, 'Need to get back for Kick-Off'.

. Was it worth it?

No problem @Antjrice

Your track/heading confusion is why I only transpose the hdg to the front page of my sheet.

Brilliant on resorting to plain English.

Oooh, get you and your student solo base join

Sounds great.

[Antjrice]

Was it worth it?

No, it was most certainly not!…..

Sticking around at Lydd for a cup of tea and some cake would’ve been a far more rewarding outcome!

[AndyR]

I imagine the paragliders would have been launching from Firle Beacon.

Never assume NOTAM will cover every single scenario.

Well done on your solo landaway