Today is the day, I am ready. During the week I telephoned the examiner, Andrew to introduce myself and to ask him how heavy he is. In normal circumstances this would not perhaps be a tactful question, but I needed to know this to build the weight and balance calculations required for the test. It also demonstrated that I was planning ahead. The test is about two hours long so the less time messing around on the ground planning and calculating figures lets you concentrate and maximise the time you have flying. Whilst on the telephone I ask Andrew if he has a route in mind, ‘Yes, take off and make for Clatworthy Reservoir, then down to Axminster, that should do.’ I immediately begin thinking about how I will fly this part of the test. Clatworthy Reservoir is a VRP (Visual Reference Point) clearly marked on the map. Departing overhead Compton I would fly almost due west for about 50 nautical miles. Two points of consideration. First, I would be flying over RNAS Yeovilton, in normal circumstances that would require a MATZ penetration, but it will be a Saturday, so the airfield will be closed for military operations. That means I’ll just need to make blind calls on their Tower frequency to advise anyone listening of our intentions. Secondly there was identifying the reservoir. Clatworthy is one of two reservoirs tucked into the hills of Exmoor that are remarkably similar in shape and appearance. Both can be hard to spot too and if I identify the wrong one, that would be a serious error.
So, at 07:00 as I’m making my first cuppa of the morning, I print off the weather and fill in the last pieces of data into my flight plan, namely the wind. That is a concern. It has been pretty windy all week and today it remains strong at 20 knots from thirty degrees, a bit of a crosswind component to think about. With bags packed, I head out to the car for the thirty minute drive to the airfield. I am not overly nervous; this is not like my driving test. There is a healthy apprehension, but I feel in control and very well prepared.
On arrival, Steve introduces me to Andrew. The windsock is almost horizontal but it’s indicating straight down the runway, so we are ‘on’. I nip out to carry out the ‘A’ check whilst Andrew has a look at my planning. On return he simply says. ‘All set?”, I grin and nod the affirmative, “Let’s go then.” No questions on my planning, that’s a good start!
Departing on Zero-Eight Alpha Whiskey leaps into the sky with eagerness of a fresh horse, the twenty knot headwind providing a heap of lift today. I turn onto the heading of 278 degrees from the downwind circuit climbing up to 2,500ft. I trim the aircraft for straight and level flight, really feeling both in control and able to settle down to enjoy the experience. Andrew and I strike up conversation on this leg which should take about 25 minutes to complete. He has immediately put me at ease, talking to me in a manner that manages to convey his own confidence in my ability to fly the aircraft. In between the discussion I contact Yeovilton and carry out a FREDA check. That 25 minutes felt like five, looking out of the cockpit I identify Clatworthy, turning Alpha Whiskey onto a new heading of 141 degrees towards Axminster, resetting the stopwatch for this 13minute leg. Andrew is quiet for the moment, allowing me to re-trim the aircraft onto the new heading. He then utters the dreaded words, “Ok, let’s divert to Beaminster, shall we.” Surprisingly I feel totally calm as I survey my map, work out the course and ETA, turn onto the new heading and re-trim Alpha Whiskey once more. We trundle along for a few minutes in silence, then Andrew asks “Are you happy with that course and time over Beaminster?” For a moment my mind gets a little ahead of me, I’m wondering if I have screwed up. It is only a matter of moments though as I affirm that yes, I am happy. Andrew replies “So am I, there’s Beaminster on the nose, lets make a heading of two six zero and begin to climb to 4,000ft. I begin the turn as Andrew reaches for the throttle and reduces it to idle. “Engine failure.”
Once again, I am calm, I go through the restart drills whilst looking for a suitable field. I spot one but we are little high. Cross controls will do it. I stick in full left aileron and right rudder; Alpha Whiskey loses height quickly. I’m set up at a much better approach now. I notice it’s a nice square paddock with long fresh grass that’s being flattened by the wind and surrounded by a hawthorn hedge. There is that moment again where I wonder whether we are actually going to land, but Andrew kills that thought in the next instance, “I think we would get into that one no problem, these PA28’s will land easily in 400m, full power and pull away. Let’s get some height to do some general handling.’
For the next twenty minutes we carry out steep turns and stalls before heading back to Compton. Once established downwind Andrew asks me to make a flapless approach for a touch and go. As I turn in on finals the wind gusts buffet us about quite a bit. I manage to get Alpha Whiskey in a stable approach, but we are now a little too fast without the flaps. As we cross the threshold, I’m not happy and call for a go around, adding in the power to climb away. “That was a good decision there, Jim.” I am relieved, far better to make that call than to carry on with a tricky landing. “Let’s try that again.” Around we go, this time we make a perfect approach before we climb away once more. “That’s fine Jim, I think we can land now in normal configuration please.”
“Alpha Whiskey, Runway vacated.” We are done; the Skills Test is in the bag. Back in the clubhouse there are lots of smiling faces, pats on the back and congratulations. Emma from operations takes me back out to Alpha Whiskey for a photograph that she can pop onto the Compton Facebook page and the website. Everyone makes me feel I have achieved something special.
Andrew goes through the paperwork that has to be sent off to the CAA in order for them to grant me a licence. It takes some time as Andrew needs to complete the skills test ‘report’, before reviewing my ground exam results, medical certificate and the hours in my logbook. Here I have to stress the importance of keeping this up to date and accurate. With that complete we are done. It is now a question of waiting for my paper licence to appear. This was taking up to four weeks at the time, during which I was unable to fly until it landed back on my doorstep.
I enjoyed every minute of my skills test, I think this is the same for everyone. It was the culmination of some superb, professional training from a group of highly skilled instructors. I had my moments of self-doubt and frustration, but these were temporary. Overall, the course was everything I had hoped for, dreamed about and more. It took me 37 days of training, 61 lessons which equated to exactly 60 hours flying (Dual and Solo). I did my first solo at 22.9 hours (quite late due to the weather conditions in winter) with 146 take-off and landings.
I took Steve to watch Surrey play Middlesex at The Oval, a great day out and a fitting end to our training together. When I am flying, I often look down and wonder if Steve is walking his dog down there.
That was six years ago. The sad fact is that many student pilots stop flying once they have gained their PPL. That is a real shame, especially with the investment put in both in monetary terms and time. So, what did I do next and what can I share with you about my experiences post PPL. Note these have worked for me and my circumstances. Whilst not a definitive guide they may help you decide where your flying will take you. Passing the skills test is a little like having passed your driving test but possibly a little more intense. For instance, I found that once I had completed the course, I missed the structure and routine of booking the time, preparing for the lessons and flying regularly.
Having a highly experienced flying instructor sat next to you for most of the course becomes almost like a comfort blanket. Afterwards the instructor is no longer there, all the decisions are now yours. I have a rule that I must never ask the question ‘should I?’ When Pilot in Command the decisions are mine and I have to stand by them as Captain of that flight. That does not mean I cannot ask for advice, as advice is something I can make a decision on and not absolve any responsibility.
Currency
As we have seen, flying regularly is so important in reducing the effect of skills fade. I determined to fly a minimum of two hours per month, hopefully more. I decided I needed to give myself new challenges to develop and improve on those skills. These included visiting new airfields, making longer flights and using radar services to maintain my familiarity with radio calls and procedures. You often hear pilots comment to each other “that’s the most expensive cup of tea and a slice of cake you’ll ever have.” I never take that view and it is not the reason I fly. The reasons I fly are enjoyment (of course) currency, new challenges, improving my skills and the experience.
Navigation is another skill that I continue to hone with those longer trips. There are many navigational aids now, especially the tablet-based applications such as SkyDemon. This has been a revelation, allowing the pilot to simply plot a course from one airfield to another the software then spitting out the track, course adjusted due to the prevailing wind, distance and time. No need for a map or the slide rule that you toiled over during the PPL course. Using either the GPS built into the phone with an active SIM card or using an external GPS module, your course can be plotted real-time as you fly along your route.
With my background in technology, I think this is a fantastic tool, but one not to become too reliant upon. My preference is to use all the tools available in parallel. This helps maintain those skill sets and give a high level of redundancy in the cockpit. I still plot my course on the paper map as well as on my tablet. It remains a last resort should I lose my electronic aids. That has happened to me. I was flying west alongside Studland Bay in Dorset, due to turn north at Corfe Castle to track back towards Compton. There is a Danger Area to the west, the Lulworth gunnery ranges in particular, and Bournemouth controlled airspace to the east. Inadvertently straying into either can be extremely dangerous and get you into a lot of trouble. On this occasion, it was a very hot day the intensity of the sun overheating my iPad which switched itself off at the moment I needed it most. I had to revert to the paper map. This was not a problem as I keep up my map reading skills and a reminder to continue to do so!
It's the simple things that can catch you out. During your training the check list is followed religiously. I have several experiences where not adhering to the checklist has caused me problems. I once attempted to carry out a start up from memory. On firing up the engine I could not understand why I could not hear the fuel pump. It looked like it was working from the gauge showing there was pressure, but I could not hear the distinctive purring noise from the pump. Was it broken? I switched off the engine and thought about it, returned to the checklist and it became blindingly obvious why this had occurred. Testing the fuel pump comes before start up in the checklist, so that you can indeed hear the pump working. Yet another reason for understanding why these checks are carried out.
Timers
There are several major timers that need to be kept in mind. When using club aircraft there may be a requirement to have a check ride with an instructor if you go over a defined period of time without having flown. At Compton this was 27 days. There is the 90-day rule to consider. You must have made at least three take-off and landings within the previous 90 days before taking a passenger on a flight. If you have not done so, then you will need to do these solo before you can take a passenger once more. This rule was relaxed during the Covid epidemic. It allowed a pilot to take another qualified pilot as a back-up, which I personally think was very sensible and should have been retained.
Finally, there is your bi-annual SEP (Single Engined Piston) renewal. The pilot has to have flown a minimum of 12 hours in the previous year, an hour of which should have been with an instructor. You will then need to book an instructor for an hour who can sign you off for a further two years. This is not a test, it’s a demonstration of your continued competence to fly, like the skills test it is a lot of fun.
Cost & Aircraft availability
Clearly your budget will determine how often you can fly, but so will aircraft availability. It is worth checking with your flying club whether their training programme affects the availability of aircraft for hire. You should also check how long you can hire the aircraft for. Most cross-country flights with a land away will require more than an hour allocated for the round trip. So, aircraft availability and rental slots will affect how far from your ‘home’ airfield you can fly.
The alternative is to buy an aircraft or join a syndicate.
Ownership
I was very fortunate to have found a syndicate aircraft that would suit my budget and my needs. There are several considerations. How many people are in the syndicate? If there are few, then the share costs are higher, but the aircraft availability will be much better. The opposite is true as the number of members increases. We have five members in our syndicate which is a great balance of cost over availability. We almost always fly with another member, one flying outbound the other on the return leg which not only helps with the cost sharing but increases the availability of the aircraft.
The advantage over a club aircraft or hire is that you can fly almost whenever you like and there are no time limits imposed on departure or return. In some instances, you may be permitted to take the aircraft away for a night or two. These were key items for me when making the decision to buy into the syndicate and almost guaranteed that I could maintain the level of currency I desired.
Cost is of course a big consideration, but these may not be as high as you imagine, especially when comparing with regularly hiring a club aircraft. You should have to budget for an initial share cost of the airframe, a monthly fixed cost for items such as hangarage and annual maintenance whilst there will be an hourly rate to cover fuel, wear and tear etc. Whilst more expensive, having the aircraft under cover in a hanger is a huge advantage, weather damage will occur over time with exposure to the sun being perhaps worse than wind and rain.
A good syndicate will have a small number of pilots, a set of thorough accounts that can be accessed on request, and an engine and contingency fund that is maintained with a healthy (growing) balance. Ideally the annual maintenance should be sometime over the winter months when flying is restricted by the weather, the aircraft should look (outside and in the cockpit) in good condition with members clearly taking a pride in the asset by cleaning it regularly (after every flight!).
Planning and Cockpit Management
Steve instilled in me the importance of cockpit management. How much information for a flight do you need? How much is relevant? How can you access it quickly and efficiently?
In the early stages of navigation training I had a large kneeboard, various pilot logs with my headings, altitudes, radio frequences etc. I had my map and an A5 spiralled checklist which constantly fell off my lap into the cockpit. I had to make some changes, but I was so ingrained in doing things the way I was taught in training that I was both reluctant and nervous to change anything!
I began though with three items. Firstly, my iPad. I initially used a standard iPad, but this was really too big, especially as I have to slide the seat right forward because I am only 5’ tall! If I protected the iPad in a kneepad, then I could not open it fully as the control column got in the way! I felt I had to have a kneepad as this helped protect the iPad from the sun and prevent it from overheating. The answer was to purchase an iPad Mini. I chose one which could take a SIM card and purchased a data only SIM on a cheap contract. Subsequently I purchased a Sky Echo device with a GPS receiver that would paint other aircraft carrying the same equipment onto my SkyDemo display for traffic awareness/avoidance. This also gave me further backup. Should the SkyEcho fail for any reason the SIM card would provide a level of redundancy.
Next was the checklist and where to store my airfield plates and other supplementary information. I could not find a kneepad that would hold both the iPad Mini and the sheets together in a way that I found manageable. I decided to build my own single sheet checklist and dump the old one. That felt very liberating. After some trial and error, I purchased a second A5 sized kneepad, so I have one strapped to each leg. The iPad on my right and the other on my left. It works for me.
Planning
I really enjoy the planning of a flight. In the film, The Battle of Britain, there is a scene where Robert Shaw’s character (loosely based on ‘Sailor Malan’) quietly closes his front door at first light. He has just kissed his wife and children goodbye, leaving behind the tranquillity of his cottage and homelife to step into one of conflict. Now, I don’t for one minute compare myself with a fighter pilot, but I am reminded of that scene almost every time I leave for the airfield, as I quietly close my own front door. The reason I recall this, is that at that moment I am in what I think as ‘flying mode’. I am just thinking about flying and that is because I am well prepared.
My planning will have begun several days beforehand, beginning with reviewing the weather forecast for the days ahead, trying to judge which day will offer the best conditions to fly. I’ll then book the aeroplane, see if any of the other syndicate members want to join me before deciding which airfield to fly to and who will fly each leg. Once this is decided I will plan the route, referring to SkyDemon on my desktop computer and then transfer this onto the paper map.
I’ll begin to analyse the radar services I will use along the route and if there are any navigational aids I can take advantage of, such as VOR beacons. I’ll build the route on an A5 laminated sheet, beginning with the radio frequencies I have selected before adding in the track for each leg, the minimum safe altitude, the altitude I will fly the aeroplane and the distance in nautical miles. I will leave the timings for each leg until I have the wind direction and speed on the morning of the flight.
Now to review the destination airfield. I’ll want to know the ICAO code (International Civil Aviation Organisation) for the airfield. This is a unique four-letter code assigned to most airfields, for example the code for Compton Abbas is EGHA, and the one for my current airfield, Henstridge is EGHS. If I feed this into our Garmin navigational box in the aircraft it can tell me the direction, I need to fly to reach that airfield, how far it is away and what time I should get there. This is very useful if we need to divert for any reason.
I’ll review the runways available, which direction the circuit is flown and at what height. Then, are there any restrictions or special instructions on arrival, noise abatement procedures, taxy ways, parking, do I need to wear a high vis jacket and most important, is there a café. I’ll annotate this detail onto my notes and begin to visualise the approach to land. I may consult google maps to look at the surrounding countryside.
With the route and destination decided I’ll now look at what I call the high-level planning checklist. Something I have built for myself. It reminds me of all the items I need to address outside of operating the aircraft. Have I notified our airfield that I will be flying, how do I contact the destination airfield to notify or gain permission to visit them. I have a check box to confirm I have looked at the latest NOTAM’s and of course the weather. This will include the official Met Office reports as well as Terminal Area Forecasts (TAF’s). These are localised met reports issued by most major airports. They provide a good overview of predicted local weather conditions on the day. Some airfields have their own weather stations which provide an online, real-time indication of conditions at the airfield.
If there is a problem during the flight I may need to divert to another airfield. So I will look along the intended route and pick out the airfields close by. I’ll note the ICAO code and radio frequencies so that if the situation arises, I can simply input these into the Garmin which will provide me with the correct track to get me down safely.
Now I’m ready to fly. This may seem an awful lot of work, but it is something I do for every flight I make, even if it is a short trip to somewhere I am familiar with. It helps me ensure I have left nothing to chance, with so many variables in flying, it is easy to miss something important. This is especially the case as one becomes more confident and there is room for complacency to creep in. Complacency and flying do not go well together.
Post Skills
I often get asked whether I can fly at night, in bad weather or perform aerobatics. The PPL holder is not permitted to do any of these (there are instances where night flying is possible but this falls outside the scope of this book). However, they are skills that can be learned.
Being able to fly on instruments requires an Instrument Rating (IFR) which is internationally recognised but is a very long and quite a costly course to take up. However, in the UK we still have what is called an Instrument Meteorological Conditions Rating (IMC), officially known as an IFR(R), where the R stands for Restricted. The restricted primarily indicates that it is only valid for use in United Kingdom airspace, but it is also a ‘paired down’ version of the full instrument Rating.
Having completed the IMC rating I can highly recommend taking the course. The student will fly some ten hours of instruction on instruments, before completing a written exam paper and a skills test. During the flying instruction the student wears restricted vision glasses so that there is a reliance on the instruments for navigation and general handling. The student will learn how to make an instrument approach at a suitably equipped airfield.
There are a number of benefits in taking the IMC course. It really consolidates the pilots flying skills in both height and heading consistency with a track deviation of a maximum of 4 degrees on approach and 100ft altitude at all times. Your radio skills will improve too, especially during the instrument approach where the pilot is under control of air traffic control. Some of the instructions are precise and require the reading back of all pertinent information to confirm it has been understood.
I completed the IMC course not to go flying in poor weather conditions, but to hone my skills further and to give me an ability to get out of trouble should the weather close in. Quite a possibility in the U.K. There are many instances of fatal accidents occurring where non instrument rated pilots have flown into conditions of poor visibility, become disorientated before crashing.
I was advised to get some hours under my belt post the PPL skills test before embarking on the IMC course. This was indeed very good advice as the student pilot needs to be ahead of the aircraft at all times, good at carrying out simple actions such as FREDA checks almost automatically and be confident on the radio. If you are confident in all those skills, then it should not be a problem.
Night flying courses are available but of course you need an airfield that has the appropriate facilities to handle aircraft at night and as such you will of course be restricted to operating in and out of these once you have completed the course. I fly from an airfield without such facilities, so it simply has not been worthwhile doing such as course.
More specialist courses can be taken at some airfields, such as aerobatics and learning to fly tail dragging aircraft or advance to multi-engined rating or even a helicopter licence.
My mantra has always been ‘keep pushing yourself and never stop learning’. You learn something every time you fly, and there are many tools and organisations to help you do that. The General Aviation Safety Council (GASCO) is one. They produce a booklet call The Skyway Code. It is a superb, condensed version of the key information you learn during the PPL course in a handy A5 size book. GASCO hold regular training sessions at a number or airfields or host online webinars to discuss the latest observation and training in safety matters.
The future
I love flying, not just the act of piloting the aircraft but all the peripheral ‘stuff’ that goes with it. Planning a flight, testing my skills, visiting new airfields and procedures, taking friends flying, visiting museums, talking to fellow aviation enthusiasts to name a few. I am so pleased that back in the beginning despite thinking I was perhaps too old to take up the challenge, I was persuaded to do so.
I will continue to fly as long as I am both physically and mentally able. I am already looking forward to my next flight, where that will take me and what will I learn on the way. If this book has inspired you to take up flying, for whatever reason or future plans you may have in aviation, then I have done what I set out to do in writing about my own experiences. Good luck and safe landings.
The End… but not yet.
