Busy day

I was going to type that the pressure is now on, but realised that I said that before. It's just that with each step there seems to be more pressure. What am I saying? there IS more pressure.

Today's pressure is that I was informed that it is about one month to the flight test. I really did not need to hear that! One month?! From past flight tests I know that everything does come together in the last week, so I am hoping to follow that same format. Right now however there is a huge chasm in my skillbank between now and that point. I can't think about it. Gotta do more, gotta be more.

The photo above is my current office. A few knobs and dials there to play with, and as we have two engines there are two of each for the bits that have to do with the engines. Fun fun fun.

Busy day today. There are lots of requirements that have to be met in order to gain an IFR rating, one of those being that you need a night rating to the level of your licence. Well I have a PPL night rating, but am one hour short of the CPL night rating. First things first though. Today's lesson was asymmetric circuits. That is basically doing a takeoff, fly the circuit and do a touch-and-go, and in the mean time the instructor shuts down one engine. The immediate effect of this is that the aircraft yaws in the direction of the failed engine, so it is up to the pilot to maintain control, all the while doing the emergency checks and drills and flying the circuit. There were several stages in the circuit that the engine was shut down...shortly after takeoff, down wind, and on base shortly before landing. The circuits in the twin are pretty busy, however with one engine shut down it goes up a notch or three. There were a few moments there where I was simply overloaded. Please sir, brain full. It does get easier though as it is all about following the procedure as soon as that engine shuts down. Remember when Captain Sullenburger landed Flight 1549 successfully on the Hudson river following a double engine failure? He did this by following the procedures, and also by doing a lot of quick thinking. I haven't yet seen an item in any checklist which says "land on the river", but you do whatever it takes to make it work. And he did.

So that was the first part of the day. Second part was getting in that hour of night flying. This was to be done in a Cessna 152 which I haven't flown for a while, so I had to go up with an instructor first during the day to satisfy him that I wasn't going to bend the aircraft. This done, then it was up on my own for a few circuits.

Night flying here at Motueka is a tricky affair as the runway doesn't have lights. This means that we have to fly to Nelson airport during daylight and conduct night flying from there. So had myself some dinner, then we (three other guys were night flying tonight) flew our aircraft over to Nelson to meet the instructors over there. It has been a few years since I have been night flying, so the instructor wanted to make real sure that I was safe for this. Once again this involved going up with him for a few night circuits. All good, then it was up on my own to get that ellusive hour. There was quite a cross-wind tonight which added to the mix, but all good fun. To be honest, night flying is magical. The familiar landscape takes on a surreal quality with the lit buildings and roads interspersed with areas of blackness. Even more surreal are the landings. Just before touchdown there is about a 5-10 second pause where the runway can not be seen, only the edge lighting to either side. It is a matter of holding the aircraft in the landing attitude hopefully on centreline, and waiting for the aircraft to sink on to the runway. Surreal? Spooky. Awesome!!

So what a day it has been. Today's logbook entries show six different flights in three different aircraft. These flights consisted of 1.1 hrs twin, 3.1 hrs in the 152, of which 1.0 hr is the important PIC night hours!! And this gives me another sticker for the logbook, CPL night rating. And that is the last of the VFR flying that I will be doing while I am here. From now to the end it's about IFR and staring at those instruments. Remember that sexy hood I was wearing earlier on? That is going to be my friend.

I see have thrown a few more acronyms and terms with this entry. So if you're curious about what PIC or even the circuit is, hop along to the terminology page here. And please excuse the formatting. For some reason it won't allow me to add spaces between paragraphs tonight. Technology.