Extra260 Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Hi All After a week or so of not flying due to a cold, it was time for Solo No 3 this morning. The weather was looking a bit iffy as I was driving to the airport , overcast with broken cloud at 2000 and scattered clouds at 12000 (according to the metar in the iPhone Aeroweather application). Circuit height is 1900ft so I was concerned about a wasted drive. Fortunately the cloud lifted before I got airborne. I was supposed to take WWS again, but it was in for maintenance due to a stuffed starter motor, so I got TAV instead Terry signed me out and helped me refuel, full tanks as I was going out on my own. Wind was 090 at 6 knots so it was off rwy 12. TAV is the best performing of the 3 150's at brindabella.. you do actually notice a difference without anyone in the right seat, climbs so much better and you actually have to watch the airspeed before getting the flaps down. WWS rarely gets past 80kts in the circuit As is usual at YSCB at 9am, lots of RPT traffic, I spent an hour doing 8 circuits, with lots of extended legs for sequencing, a couple of close circuits, and the occasional orbit to stop me heading off over the city. Anyone at the top of mt Ainslee would have had a good view, got pretty close over it a few times! I only had one traffic sighting to deal with, another 150 returning from the training area, finally spotted him when he was on short final (still struggling a bit with spotting traffic). The air was quite turbulent and it was quite tiring, but I was pleased with the flying and felt quite comfortable with the plane, landings are improving. More circuits next week. Vincent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarrylH Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Congrats...you never forget the feeling of those first few solo circuits. A time when everything seems to start to slow down and all those things that once you rushed to get done in time start to just "happen" naturally. Good for you!! Darryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bosch Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Good one Vincent. You've certainly torn ahead of me. Weather has kept me grounded since my solo almost 3 weeks ago. Hopefully tomorrow morning will let me get off the ground! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Extra260 Posted May 20, 2009 Author Share Posted May 20, 2009 Thanks guys Today I definitely noticed a difference from the last two solos, I was a lot calmer, a lot more comfortable with the plane. I did make a point of doing some study last night to make sure I know the numbers and had a read through of the checklists etc and I think that helped. John.. I fear you may be foxed by the weather again tomorrow, forecast doesn't looks so good :'( I was surprised I managed to get an aircraft for today, I only rang and booked yesterday afternoon. The school was like a zoo today, lots of people there (all the instructors and the cpl students). The maint hangar was chockers, a motor glider (wings folded, nice looking 2 seater), a metro with one engine cowl opened up , a chieftain getting a new strobe light and WWS sitting outside with the cowl off getting a new starter motor. Vincent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bosch Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Thwarted again ... damn weather :'(. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Extra260 Posted May 21, 2009 Author Share Posted May 21, 2009 Thwarted again ... damn weather :'(. Bugger :'( Looks like it should clear up by the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agrajag Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 The weather sure is a pain at the moment. I guess it is good to get some rain for a change though! One reason I have found it very hard to spot traffic is that the position calls are often a long way off. I know it isn't just me because my instructors sometimes have the same problem! Another reason is that it can be just plain tricky when there are hills in the way, sometimes they just blend in a little too much ) The way I am trying to improve my estimating at the moment is that I estimate distance and time then cross check with the GPS then make the call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Extra260 Posted May 24, 2009 Author Share Posted May 24, 2009 The way I am trying to improve my estimating at the moment is that I estimate distance and time then cross check with the GPS then make the call. You have a GPS for circuits.. no such thing in the 150's John & I are flying \ The other day I was towards the end of downwind when I asked to report sighting a company 150 on a 3 mile final.. I looked and looked.. I spotted him when he as was on short final His approach was lower than I expected, and he just blended in with the hills and buildings. a C150 at 3 miles is just a spec, very hard to see, just blends in with the other specs.. on the windscreen. Hopefully John got some airtime today.. he was due to fly at 3pm, it's been overcast but looked flyable from home. Vincent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurice_King Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 This might help Mozz's Whizz Wheel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Extra260 Posted May 24, 2009 Author Share Posted May 24, 2009 This might help Mozz's Whizz Wheel No PC/internet in the 150 either I have the equiv on my iPhone.. but to be honest there isn't time to mess with that in the circuit... different story when cruising at 8000 on auto pilot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bosch Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 I'm not sure why you'd want that much stuff in the circuit. Flying a circuit is meant to be visual. You should always know, at a glance, where the ends of the runway are. Yes, I got to fly today. The report will be coming as soon as I've read the rest of the posts across the forum . I was on a left crosswind on runway 12, looking back west towards the end of 35 at about 4pm trying to find a Dash-8 with about 2 x 10^30kg of burning Hydrogen making it damn bright. I found him as he came out of the glare. He and Mount Ainsile were the same colour black though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agrajag Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 lol. ) No, I don't use a GPS for circuits. I was meaning more for inbound or situational awareness calls outside the circuit. sorry if there was confusion, I couldn't type much as my internet is down so I was using a internet cafe with a short limit. ) Actually, besides as stated I don't use the GPS at all at the moment. Just my paper charts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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