Sunday, November 13, 2005
Dizzy
And so we return to circuits: just like those at the gym but more exhausting for body and mind. These are to hone your discipline and skills around the airfield. When coming into land you don't just aim for the runway, you have to join a well-defined, height-regulated and Air Traffic Control (ATC)-controlled pattern. Circuits helps to speed that process up by taking off, joining the circuit and coming into land before, without stopping, powering up again and taking off.
Each circuit around Biggin Hill takes, I suppose, around 8 minutes. I say I suppose as I'm not really aware of time, just tasks. When taking off you have to maintain a certain speed in the climb and turn at the right point and at the right height. Then there's the strict circuit height (as other aircraft may fly overhead), keeping distance from and looking out for other aircraft who may be joining the circuit from other airfields, usually from 'deadside'.
On the downwind it's checks time and BUMFFICHHL: dab the Brakes, check Undercarriage if not fixed, fuel Mixture to rich, check Fuel is sufficient for a go-around and that the pump is on, set Flaps as required, check Instruments and that the directional indicator aligns with compass and that temperatures and pressures are green, turn Carburettor heat on, ensure Harness is secure, that Hatch and windows are closed, that Landing light is on. Oh yes, and you need to advise ATC of your position. Oh... and fly the damn thing of course.
By the time that's all done it's probably time to turn onto base leg. Here you're really getting ready to land, the flaps go down to improve lift while slowing the plane's speed. Descending, descending to a turn onto final... the details of which I'll leave til another day...
After 5 or 6 of these I was dizzy enough combined with my head spinning from task after task. And I'm paying for this?! Still, a circuit will be my first solo activity so, in spite of exhaustion, I feel a whole lot more confident at the end of the day than at the start.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
What's in a name?
I had planned to escape for long enough to fit in a sneaky lesson but it wasn't to be. It would probably have been easier to fly to the office today but perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself!
In the absence of a lesson log I decided I'd explain the blog title... realising too late that it might sound rather morbid and foreboding, particularly with some of the background to my previous post.
For the non-pilots among you, deadside is the area on the other side of the aerodrome from the circuit which, as I'll no doubt explain properly in a future post, is the strictly organised stack'em / pack'em / rack'em bit prior to landing. So you usually approach the airport from deadside, the non-active bit before being allowed to join the circuit.
Each aerodrome will have its own instructions for joining the circuit, called joining instructions strangely enough. At Biggin Hill you're usually asked to call the tower when you're 3 miles out: as you'll usually be approaching from deadside the radio call is '3 miles deadside' to indicate your location and distance.
There. You really wanted to know that didn't you?
In the absence of a lesson log I decided I'd explain the blog title... realising too late that it might sound rather morbid and foreboding, particularly with some of the background to my previous post.
For the non-pilots among you, deadside is the area on the other side of the aerodrome from the circuit which, as I'll no doubt explain properly in a future post, is the strictly organised stack'em / pack'em / rack'em bit prior to landing. So you usually approach the airport from deadside, the non-active bit before being allowed to join the circuit.
Each aerodrome will have its own instructions for joining the circuit, called joining instructions strangely enough. At Biggin Hill you're usually asked to call the tower when you're 3 miles out: as you'll usually be approaching from deadside the radio call is '3 miles deadside' to indicate your location and distance.
There. You really wanted to know that didn't you?
