I seem to have been very busy again since the last update. We have been very fortunate with the weather so far and have got lots of flying in as a result. I am up to lesson 10 now, that's one lesson away from my first solo!
Taking off Runway 25R
Flying out towards the west coast
Some of the flights I've had have been brilliant. The views have been beautiful and conditions perfect for flying, just clear, blue and still. I definitely can't see myself getting tired of this at all. After effects of controls and straight and level, I have completed lessons on climbing and descending, medium turns, stalling and circuits.
Practising medium turns over the west coast of New Zealand
My instructor keeps throwing more and more at me each lesson and it's quite a high workload if it's not totally natural. You definitely need to be prepared and thinking ahead. I'm now doing all the pre flight, almost all of the radio calls, checks, taxiing, flying and refuelling. My radio skills have definitely improved and I now feel much more comfortable communicating on the radio. The basic flying skills are becoming more natural too which free's up some capacity which is good!
Bit of orientation
Each lesson has it's own learning objective with specific techniques which have to be learned and demonstrated accurately, such as doing a medium turn at 30 degrees of bank and not losing or gaining height, using only the horizon as guidance and also whilst maintaining the ALAP scan (attitude, lookout, attitude, performance). As I said, when it's new there's a lot to think about and the capacity is quickly drained.
DJ & I - New Zealand room mates
I've recently been doing circuits at Hamilton which has been so much fun. It's very busy as a circuit only takes 6 - 8 minutes and in that time you need to complete after take off checks, make radio calls, do landing checks, set up for landing, maintain a good lookout and fly an accurate circuit pattern with the correct spacing from the airfield and other aircraft. It's a great opportunity to get a feel for the aircraft and practice your landings and take off's. I have done about 7 in each circuit lesson so far and am definitely getting more confident with landing the thing.
My last lesson was only 13 minutes sadly, managing just 1 circuit due to the strong crosswind which was also gusting. I gave it a go but it was just a bit too much for me to deal with at this stage so we decided to try again another day.
The weather is turning bad for the next few days which is annoying so I don't think I'll be flying till late next week or weekend.
When I haven't been flying I've been going into Hamilton to play mini-golf and just wonder around to get used to the area. I've signed up to the local golf course which is about 5 minutes from Clearways which is handy! A 9 month membership is just $200 and an extra $70 to hire a set of clubs for the same time. I managed to get 9 holes in yesterday which was good fun! It's a lovely course, I look forward to playing a few rounds there over the next 8 months. I've also joined the local cricket club, Melville. I had my first training session the other day and everyone was very nice and welcoming. The set up was excellent and facilities seem good so hopefully I'll get as much training and matches in as possible.
count down to the cricket world cup
Some of us went to Rotorua last week which was great fun! We went to a place called The Louge where you run down a designated track on the side of a mountain on a sledge like thing on wheels. It goes at a fair speed but is so much fun! There's also mountain biking, a zip wire and a terrifying ball which catapults you to 150kph in 2 seconds over the edge of the mountain.
Rotorua
There are thermal pools near by too which we didn't have time to see sadly but I'm sure there will be another day.
We managed another trip out towards the coast to have a look at a few caves, a stunning waterfall and the west coast of New Zealand which was very cool.
Marokopa Falls
My favourite trip though was when we went to Aukland to see New Zealand vs Australia. That was unbelievable and I saw the Haka in real life which is such an incredible experience, especially in front of a home crowd. It was a top quality game and it was an added bonus that Australia got thrashed, always a pleasing sight.
All blacks v Australia
I'm well settled out here now and very happy doing lots of flights and experiencing as much of the country as possible along side some great people!
No comments:
Post a Comment