Mon Jul 22, 2019 9:44 pm
#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!
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!