Sat 12 Oct 2013 0.9 hours C-150 Circuits

Having just had a painful, though successful BFR due to not flying in 12 months, I took up a 150 for circuit work. Plodding around on a most beautiful spring day I kind of got into it after the first two circuits and felt a part of the busy life of the regional airport. ATC even thanked me after expediting a base turn to assist sequence an A320 inbound, me watching it land proudly over a sharp turn onto downwind. There was a change of runway half way through with a couple of knots of downwind to add some spice to the landing and flatten the take off. The best moment was on the crosswind climb, head swiveling for traffic spotting when I spot something large in my one o'clock. Alarm turned to amusement when I focus and see the waxing half moon emerging planet sized from behind my cowling. I felt more like an astronaut for a moment, rather than an aeronaut.

Checked out in the Victa Airtourer

160hp constant speed prop flaperons sliding canopy with centre-stick. What's not to like about this Aussie veteran which is the club's replacement aero mount from the Robin. Good radio stack. K took me up over the bombing range for an upper air check out. THere was lots of traffic and one of my headset's phones was shot, so I was only hearinf out of one ear, which wasnt helping me concentrate on all the calls as well as what K wanted me to do. Steep turns and wing overs were fun as was stalls and then we glided back over the field for a PFL. Gliding into two helicopters, an incoming 150 followed by an Airbus and I mucked the approach by waiting my turn in the pattern. On climb out from the second botch after putting on too much flap we notice the Manifold Pressure gauge was sticking again, this time for good. We had done three perfect landings so we packed up and K checked with the engineering and maintenance people for the club about it. Get her to Cessnock where R was waiting to fix her up. But how, I wasnt checked out in the Archer, our only other aircraft and K and I were the only pilots on the ground.Fine, I'll fly the ATourer with the broken MP guage. Just set the prop by ear. It's the second time I'd flown it! Kerry will follow in the Archer.

Airborne and set in the cruise at 1500 ft K formates on my left wing as he said he would. Holy shit! I'd never been so close to another aircraft so close even on the ground! Dont look at it, look ahead and fly smooth. K is the formation instructor. He pulls back and underneath and formates on my right then comes up. I ease away a little to the left opening up a space between us. Is he looking at my MP gauge?!

He adds speed and I follow him about 150 metres, and keep bouncing in his wake! Ease right takes care of it. I hear C call into Cessnock in his helo. "Hi C" "G'day mate" He thought I was someone else.

K is 2/3 a mile ahead of me into the pattern and I am on final as he is pulling off the runway. Another fine landing and I taki to R's hangar our repairer and C's dad. We chat and then head back. K gives checks me out in the Archer on the way back. It is easy to fly. Just a big old Warrior. The check out is part of the Tourer ferry, so it pays to be at the right place at the right time. Three flights for the price of one. And two checks. Did I say the weather was wonderful flying weather.. ? Ahh Hunter Valley flying. It's the best!

Circuits!

I had to go flying. It'd been seven months. Seven! I booked the hour and half slot in the middle of the day. And wouldnt you know, the two instructors checking out in the Robin went over an hour late. And the instructor following on from my booking was giving me the hurry up, and I wasnt even in it! There's no justice. Anyway it was good to catch up with friends at the club. Hadnt seen for ages. S even came in specially to say hi after seeing my name on the on-line booking sheet.

It was a beautiful beautiful sunny mild flying day. I just did three circuits, two touch an dgos, to make me passenger carrying legal for another 90 days. Two beaaautufl landings I did. The last not so much. Got complacent aafter the firrst two!/

Brooklyn Bridge

Where the Hawksbury River (right-west) becomes Broken Bay (left-east). View from the Robin on a trip to Canberra.

sloppy aeroboatics

The club president thought it'd be good to go flying again so I invited him for a ride while I caught up with some aero practice. Time gets away from you. It'd already been six months since I'd flown a sequence. So it was basic. Two loops, two rolls, two stall turns and a fast glide approach to shut down before it ticks over point five.

The cloud ceiling was just about where it would be a nuisance, 4000 feet. But it was scattered and less over the coast. 90 degree turns to check for silent air traffic. None so wing over dive 130 knots haul back the stick and look "up" for the horizon coming over. A bit slow, but S shouting "we fell off the top" I though was a bit of an exageration. Hey I', a bit rusty. We didnt really lose 500 ft. I just left it there. Haul the wing over and let the nose drop into a steep dive. 130 knots come up fast. Haul back harder until the stall warning squeeks. Over over "you did it again!". I did not do it the first time. (I reckon the 130 knots should really be 135). How you feeling? Ok. Alright a couple of rolls. Hard right, push forward. Ease back out of the dive. She really drops the nose eh? Yes. 108 knots, Hard left, push forward. That's better. A stall turn. 115 knots and the Robin is standing on its tail, but the ASI shows 60 knots dropping slowly, look left, almost vertical, hard left rudder, right stick. Slowly she pivots dropping a little onto its back, then sliding fast to a nost down face full of trees attitude. Draw baack the throttle and pull back on the stick till we're going up again and push the rpms back up. Again! Same deal until we're going straight up but this time I apply right stick at the same time as I go full left rudder. She stalls with a dramatic nose down flop. THat's it. First time I've cocked up a stall turn. Not that it matters. Just need more practice. How you feeling? ...err, yeah I think I've had enough. Ok lets go below!

Wet in the air

It's been dry for so long. We're lucky to be as close to the coast as we are, but the rain shadow starts at about our distance. It's been like a desert back west.

So it's nice when it rains. Not when you're flying though. Showers are ok. You can see the beginning and end of them. But good soaking rain just goes on and on.

I didnt have my flying gear with me when S called. I'd ridden my motorbike in to work. Even though rain was forecast. Heard that before. So help me pick up an aeroplane from the LAME at Cessnock? Oh ok. I could borrow a chart and there are spare headsets at the flying club.

The radar picture was peculiar. A fast moving band of blue (light rain) moving in from the west. Extensively. Oh well, the met forecast was ok. Windy in two hours. Light rain. Sweet.

Fuel up first? Half a tank. Rain. Yeah, better. Just in case.

The delay put us closer to the winds, especially flying west, into it. Climbing to 1500 feet, the picture was pretty darn grey.

Press on S? Looks iffy? Yeah.... Then Air Traffic hands us off into uncontrolled airspace, and oh what the heck. We can see Kurri, the highway below us. Greyness ahead. We're flying in full on rain.

Is that the cloud base? Going down to the ground?

No. Veils of rain.

More rain behind it. We'll be in it in a minute.

The cloud base is up there. Somewhere...

The GPS is in my flying bag. At home in the 4WD. Below me and behind. And of all days this is when I might actually need it.

There's Cessnock. The town. Cant make out the airport. That's the hangars isnt it?

Traffic Cessnock, Robin joining crosswind three five.

Put down ok after a way too high and hot approach – too close to the field (didnt want to lose sight of it). Though I really didnt want to go around either. Wonder if the runway's slippery because it's been teeming like it has been since Thornton. Nope, pull off at the first taxiway and park. Wait for S but he needs to refuel. The plane he's picking up is working ok, so go on ahead back to work. I'll come back if you need.

I give my calls and launch underneath a Cessna 152 that's overflying low for downwind. Wanting to get out of it. I'm going back into it. How's that cloudbase? I stay at 1000 feet as I turn east north of the field. Point the nose at the Auto Direction Finder set to Williamtown and keep it level. Work the radio frequency changes for airways clearance in the bouncy grey wetness.

Clearance Delivery, Centre, Tower, Surface Movement Control.

I am alone, me in my 120 knot rain lashed bubble canopy and the air traffic controller's instructions through my headset. I can make out the Kurri smelter. It's the only thing big enough to stand out from five miles in this murkiness. Almost at the boundary.

I am flying over the farm. I like this trip because it takes me over the top. Not seeing much now though. Rain streaming all the way down to the rapidly filling swamps nearby. Nice to see rain going down...far below.

I am sequenced in to land. Tower asks if I can see the field. Affirm. He mustnt be able to see me. But I am much smaller among all these rain drops than he is on the ground. The air trafficers shut down their controlled air space after I land. Leave it up to pilot discretion. The weather's not much good for any actual work. Well, I helped bring one of our planes back. That's work. One hour command time in the log book.

That's the worst VMC I've ever been in. And it was mad fun.