Where have you been? What have you seen?
#1707952
Last year I signed up for a 'Beach Landing' course, run by Highland Aviation based out of Inverness Airport. Unfortunately the weather precluded going to Barra so we had fun buzzing through the mountains. I had some annual leave left this year which coincided with favourable tides at Barra, so I thought I'd give it another go!

It was a bit marginal at first, but the weather gods were actually kind to me for once. Flying with the very knowledgable Simon once again, we planned to fly Inverness to Oban via the Great Glen; then Oban to Barra; Barra to Isle of Skye/Broadford; then Skye back through the mountains (if the weather allowed) to Inverness. I filmed everything with a GoPro stuck to the rear window of Highland Aviation's Cessna 172, looking out under the port wing. Then cut down about 4 hours of footage to around 25mins, and overlaid the traces from Skydemon.

Leg 1: Inverness to Oban
Unfortunately there was some scud running out of Inverness down the Great Glen, with Ben Nevis hiding in a big lump of cumulus granitus, but there were still some impressive sights. I wish I'd had another two GoPro's, one looking forward and one looking out the starboard window! Sadly we didn't spot any monsters in Loch Ness!

Oban is quite a fun airport to fly into, stuck out on the southwestern edge of the Great Glen. Navigation from Inverness was a doddle - find Loch Ness, stay in that valley until you see sea, then turn left! Oban is a FISO field with the odd commercial flight using Islanders. It was a challenge flying using the PAPIs for the first time in about 3 years! Especially as they're set to 4.5 degrees, to clear terrain and houses... Interesting learning experience though to see how steep my usual approaches are. The terminal was very clean and modern, and landing fees were just under £20. More than reasonable by southern prices!



Legs 2 & 3: Oban to Barra to Isle of Skye (Broadford):
Departure on Runway 01 from Oban means an early turn to avoid the rather large hill at the 19 end of the runway! If you're landing on 19 you can't do a straight in approach for that reason. We routed through the Sound of Mull, past Glenforsa Hotel, again skimming under the cloud. Once we got out to the Atlantic Ocean and clear of land the cloud dissipated and we were able to climb higher.

This was my first water crossing (when a previous club trip to Cherbourg got fogged off), and total distance out of gliding range was around 40 nautical miles. With no visual cues for quite a while it was a good revision of instrument flying skills, despite being a VFR pilot! Thankfully we had Skydemon too, to ensure we weren't drifting. Looking back at the logs, I was surprised how accurate I was holding heading and height, much better than I normally do!

Barra soon popped into view and offered some stunning views. The first Loganair flight from Glasgow had already been and gone, and two more were due in later, after we had planned to leave. We elected to do a low approach down the runway to assess the surface conditions. There's no grooming of the sand, you just take what the tide gives you that day!

On climb-out, passing around the northern edge of Barra you could have thought you were in the Tropics, with the sea looking a very tempting blue. One glance at the OAT gauge soon reminded me that we were 57 degrees north!

The second approach was a touch & go. To identify the runways, all you've got is an orange marker on a pole at the threshold to each runway. Without much other traffic that day there weren't even any visible marks in the sand. The touch and go was without drama, and we continued round the circuit for a full stop. Landing in a stiff crosswind with no centreline to track certainly posed a new challenge!

The sand was surprisingly smooth, I've certainly landed on rougher grass runways! In fact, even Halfpenny Green's tarmac runway was rougher last time I visited...! You had to be careful for pockets of softer sand which may cause a groundloop. However you generally want to taxi quicker than normal to stop the plane getting bogged down. Landing was conducted using the standard soft field technique for a C172

We parked up on the edge of the beach (Barra now has a hardstanding with tie downs, above the high water mark) and went to the very busy, but very good cafe. Landing fees were £12 with training discounts. For the two landings this would have been about £20 each, full rate. Again, not bad for a commercial airport! Two other private planes were there, an N-reg Piper Cub, and a (somewhat brave!) German-registered Cirrus SR22.

After lunch, it was on to Isle of Skye (Broadford) airfield. Power checks were completed before taxi, as we were on firm sand and hadn't sunk in. Care was taken to ensure cars or planes wouldn't get sand blasted by our propwash! Otherwise, we'd have done power checks while taxiing. The brief was to fly a soft field take-off, but with a rolling start. The usual technique is to stand on the brakes and apply full power, before releasing, however this would run the risk of digging the plane into three holes, and we wouldn't move.

Skye airport has been closed to commercial activities for the last 30-odd years and has fallen somewhat into ruin, being used only for air ambulance flights and army training. Unfortunately, despite only providing a toilet in a container (granted it had running water!) and not even any air traffic services, Highland Council charge £13 for the privilege to land here. Shame there's not more facilities, as it's perfectly placed for visiting Syke. Landing was "sporty", with crosswind pretty much on the max demonstrated value for the plane!



Leg 4: Skye to Inverness, via the mountains!
The final leg was the really fun one, providing stunning scenery and some fun times in the mountains! The cloud had thankfully lifted, so we tracked north to Applecross bay, and picked up the Bealach na Bà ("Pass of the Cattle"). Anyone who's been to Applecross will know this road, it's a winding single track mountain pass, with hairpins and a 1:3 gradient, through a near-vertical valley. The height difference is about 2,000ft in not a lot of distance! We flew down this valley! I do wonder what the people in the cars driving up the road thought... Great fun to see this amazing scenery from a different angle.

From there it was back through the mountains, learning and practicing some techniques of mountain flying and also admiring the stunning scenery. Despite the winds at Skye and Barra, it was surprisingly smooth, with only the odd jolt. Once we popped out of the mountains, it was a case of following the Beauly Firth back to Inverness airport and parking the plane up for a hose-down.




I hope you enjoyed these videos and my travelogue. Total airborne time was 3h 45mins. Also kept my instructor time up, doing something a little different to just a few circuits!

I can thoroughly recommend Highland Aviation if you live in the "flatlands" and want to try a different type of flying. Their rates are surprisingly favourable and the whole team are very friendly and knowledgable. You just need the Scottish weather to play ball!
#1708900
Looks fantastic! Visited Scotland for the first time this year with a hire car and was toying with the idea of flying round there at some stage, even if it was just to tick Barra off the list.

If you don't mind me asking how much was the course? Also did you have the choice between Barra and Sollas or, tides permitting, is there the option to visit both?
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#1708979
@MidlandsPilot looks like a great trip, particularly liked the flight through the Bealach na Ba. :thumright:

Re the video; my preference if there's only one camera is it is forward facing. Also I'd rather see a heavily edited normal speed video than lots of fast forward video. Other preferences are available. :wink:

the_fat_controller wrote:Also did you have the choice between Barra and Sollas or, tides permitting, is there the option to visit both?

Worth consideration re visiting Sollas beyond tides is condition of the beach. Not being a regularly used 'runway' it is prone to having FOD and/or other factors not conducive to landing. Care required. :D

At the annual fly-in the beach is inspected and cleared by the very kind organisers and I've certainly seen HA aircraft at the fly-in.

Coincidently this weekend is the fly-in and I'm rather cheesed off not to have been there today due weather. :twisted: And tomorrow doesn't look any better. :twisted:

That said don't toy with the idea, make it a reality. For when it's good it gives memories to fall back on. :D And don't just box tick. :wink:
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#1709016
the_fat_controller wrote:If you don't mind me asking how much was the course?


It was a few quid over £1k for the actual flying and for engineering to strip the wheel hubs down and de-salt. Given Highland Aviation quote £1k for each of their Beach Landing & Mountain Flying courses, and I did both at once, wasn't too bad. Chocks to chocks was 3h45, so it seems on par with Cessna 172S instruction costs in the Midlands. Still quite a lot of money to spend in one go! Landing fees were about £45 (less if you don't go to Oban & Skye), and the very tasty hot smoked salmon sandwich at Barra was about £6!

the_fat_controller wrote:Also did you have the choice between Barra and Sollas or, tides permitting, is there the option to visit both?


Sollas is offered as an alternative. I daresay if tides are favourable you could probably ask to do both. I think Barra is the preferred as there are more facilities there - plus you can say you landed on a commercial beach! Barra, with its three "runways" also gives more options for crosswinds - which there generally will be on those islands!

Miscellaneous wrote:Re the video; my preference if there's only one camera is it is forward facing.


I'll be honest, I'm not keen on sticking stuff to the windscreen and obstructing my view forward/sideways (the GoPro was on the rear window). Unlike the C150 Aerobat with its rooflights, or a canopy, there isn't anywhere reliable I've found to suction cup the GoPro to the roof of a C172. Ideally I'd have had 3 cameras for these flights!

Miscellaneous wrote:Also I'd rather see a heavily edited normal speed video than lots of fast forward video. Other preferences are available. :wink:


Feedback noted, thanks! I've found while it may unfortunately accentuate turbulence, fast forwarding does seem to reduce the "vertical wobble" I get on the camera under higher power settings. Plus, 4 hours of video would have required an awful lot of editing!
#1709018
MidlandsPilot wrote:the "vertical wobble" I get on the camera under higher power settings.


You can get rid of this by making yourself a camera mount similar to one of these:

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2121382-Mobius-Actioncam-Vibration-Damper-Tutorial

https://www.flitetest.com/articles/anti-vibe-camera-mount

https://www.flitetest.com/articles/dead-simple-anti-vibration-mount-for-mobius-gopro
#1709043
@MidlandsPilot I'm loving your enthusiasm for flying in the Highlands. :D :thumright:

MidlandsPilot wrote:Ideally I'd have had 3 cameras for these flights!

Agreed. I'm still playing and always will be, but even for my own revisiting pleasure I find one camera position boring to watch. Two is much better especially if you change from one to the other often and of course you can throw in some stills too. :thumright:

Miscellaneous wrote:Plus, 4 hours of video would have required an awful lot of editing!

Be brutal, you know where the best bits were, just crop and bin the rest. Even if you miss some of the best it's still better than all the inevitable 'boring' bits speeded up.

As I say I'm still experimenting and learning. I quite like this position fixed to the tie down. Forward facing and no windscreen glare.



Watching your video I found myself saying turn left, turn left as you passed Soay. Extending the line of your port wing in the screenshot takes you to Loch Corusik at the base of the Cuillin which is more or less on the 07 extended centre line. Very pretty. Next time. :D

What do you fly in the Midlands? Are you likely to visit in your own aeroplane?

Image

Loch Corusik slightly above sea level tucked in to the base of the Black Cuillin.
Image
Dave W liked this
#1709192
Miscellaneous wrote:@MidlandsPilot I'm loving your enthusiasm for flying in the Highlands. :D :thumright:


I will be back! Even though from where I currently fly from, Sywell, I can fly to France and back quicker than I could fly to Inverness (both in a Cessna)...

Miscellaneous wrote:Agreed. I'm still playing and always will be, but even for my own revisiting pleasure I find one camera position boring to watch. Two is much better especially if you change from one to the other often and of course you can throw in some stills too. :thumright:


That would be the plan, but when a new camera eats into a sizeable chunk of the monthly flying budget, it's all about priorities unfortunately.

Miscellaneous wrote:As I say I'm still experimenting and learning. I quite like this position fixed to the tie down. Forward facing and no windscreen glare.


With my professional hat on, I've never been keen on hanging cameras external to the aircraft without proper certification & approvals. I do know one pilot who's GoPro came loose mid-flight. Yes, on EASA aircraft CS-STAN does open up opportunities but I've yet to come across a GoPro mount that would easily meet the secondary locking requirements. Might be time to look at another camera make...

Plus, as I currently rent (and was renting in this case), that's another hurdle to overcome, getting the aircraft owner to agree to bolting something to their aircraft.

Mind you, hanging a camera off the tail tie down might not have been good for Barra, nice sand-blasted lens!

Miscellaneous wrote:Watching your video I found myself saying turn left, turn left as you passed Soay. Extending the line of your port wing in the screenshot takes you to Loch Corusik at the base of the Cuillin which is more or less on the 07 extended centre line. Very pretty. Next time. :D


Definitely! As you can see the cloud base over Skye was quite low with a lot of cumulus granitus cloud. At that point we were deciding if we actually had enough cloud base to go back through the mountains, or whether we'd have to go IFR back to Inverness.

Miscellaneous wrote:What do you fly in the Midlands? Are you likely to visit in your own aeroplane?


Sywell, about 3hrs Cessna flight from Inverness. Sadly I rent at the moment, which makes an aerial tour of Scotland impractical (and probably mortgage-extending to finance it!). If I owned my own plane a tour of the UK would definitely be on the cards. Not sure I'd take my own to a beach though...!

Miscellaneous wrote:
Loch Corusik slightly above sea level tucked in to the base of the Black Cuillin.
Image


Stunning! My instructor did comment that aside from walking for a long time flying was the only way you could see some of the smaller lochs hidden away.
#1709322
derekf wrote:Looks great - I’ll add that to my list - maybe next year...
Unfortunately this sort of ‘fun’ costs me double as Mrs derekf wants to do the same :roll: Maybe they’ll do a special ‘Mr & Mrs’ deal :lol: :lol: :lol:


Highland Aviation did say if there was another pilot who wanted to do the course with me, it would essentially cut the costs in half. One flies outbound, lands at Barra. The other does a couple of circuits on departure from Barra, then flies the return, with both therefore getting the "landing on a beach" experience.

Nick T wrote:
MidlandsPilot wrote: I've yet to come across a GoPro mount that would easily meet the secondary locking requirements.

https://mypilotpro.com/product/mypilotpro-swivel/

Except use locking wire through the hole at the end of the screw, instead of the split pin?

(I use that on my N-Reg and it's utterly rock solid)


Thanks for that link, I'd seen that a couple of years back and lost the link again... Split pins are fine for secondary locking, after all Cessna use them to lock the trim tab rod to the tab! It's basically locking wire for a single bolt.

It's the GoPro end of the assembly where there are more issues... The standard bolt would probably need replacing with another bolt long enough to put either a locknut or a split pin on the end, and the casing zip tied/gaffer taped up (wouldn't want the GoPro falling out mid-flight!). Or reduce one of those points of failure by upgrading to a Hero 6/7, which doesn't need a case!

Unfortunately that mount and most of the GoPro range (the more expensive ones/ones you'd actually want) are a tad too heavy to use when installed in accordance with CS-STAN SC403. So new camera time!
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