On Tuesday I did VOR/DME holding and approaches with a VOR only approach and landing at the end. It was a perfect day for flying, there was practically no wind which meant there was one less thing to think about, barely any cloud and as a result of that it was lovely and smooth which made flying an absolute dream.
The lesson itself was pretty intense (as always). I did all the radio calls for the first time which was a bit scary to start with but I started feeling much more confident with them as the lesson went on. I took off on the instrument departure, did a few laps of the hold, carried out an approach and a missed approach then repeated the process two more times. Then on the final approach for landing I was using the VOR only which is slightly different because you don't have the distance read outs to the beacon so you need to use a slightly different technique. We descended down to the minimum altitude and did a visual circling manoeuvre to line up with the runway. I felt totally spent by the end but it was a successful flight and I certainly gained a lot from it.
My Knee board for the flight
Flying the VOR/DME approach in the 172
Myself and DJ also had the pleasure of spending a couple of hours with Sri Lankan cricketing legend, Chamina Vaas that evening. It so happens that he went to school with a friend of mine from the club I play for out here and he was in town with the Sri Lankan team so was just casually spending the evening round at his house. So I pounced upon the opportunity to meet one of the worlds greatest ever bowlers.
Me and a cricketing legend!
On Wednesday I had my GPS holding and approaches lesson which went well again. I still didn't feel 100% confident with the G1000 but it was certainly an improvement from the sim of this lesson and most of my radio calls were great but on my last approach I messed up two successive calls which really annoyed me. I had to read back quite a lot of instructions given to me by the controller at once and just couldn't remember it all which was very frustrating because I'd been working hard on them. Other than that though the flight went pretty well.
The C172
C172 Cockpit
Thursday was a very busy day indeed for me. I had an IFR flight doing VOR/DME and GPS holds and approaches but due to lack of slots at Hamilton I had to fly to Rotorua to do them which was cool because it was like flying a proper flight from A to B and it was also something different so an extra challenge. It went quite well and I enjoyed it. I then went to watch New Zealand v Sri Lanka at Seddon Park. It was really busy and stinking hot! I was dripping just sitting there in shorts and a T-shirt so the black caps had my full sympathy having to play in black kit!
Our view
Kieron, Me & DJ enjoying the Kiwi sunshine #shocking tan line #I'm not wearing fake tan
Dilshan celebrating his ton
Sangakara and Dilshan
Sadly, I couldn't see the second innings because I had to go back into the centre to do my night flights in the Katana. It was interesting getting back into the Katana and having to use the old steam driven instruments again. I spent about an hour with an instructor doing circuits where he was just checking my competency. There were about six aircraft in the circuit at that point so I had to be very visualant. Thankfully it's easy to spot planes at night so there were no problems. He then jumped out and sent me up on me own, by which point everyone else had landed and come back in so I had the circuit to myself. I got three circuits in before I had to land due to the curfew at Hamilton which means I have to go and do a few more in at some point just to finish it off. I really enjoy flying at night, it just feels so peaceful and you get a different perception on things. I did struggle to see my instruments though which annoying. The lighting wasn't very bright so I was focusing really hard on that and almost going by the sound of the engine to judge my speed. I had to use my torch to illuminate the panel but that created a bit of glare so finding a compromise was the task. All went well though and I was surprised how smooth my landings were considering it had been almost two months since I'd flown a Katana. The smooth conditions obviously played a massive role with that.
Cruising back from Rotorua
In the cruise with the auto-pilot on
Just eight and half hours after I left the centre I was back in preparing for another IFR flight. It was just another VOR/DME and GPS holding and approach lesson, this time at Hamilton. This was definitely my best IFR performance to date. I got all my radio calls right thanks to a helpful tip from my instructor (read back the instructions in the order at which they occur), remembered my checks and at the right time, felt confident programming the G1000, flew accurately and the landing was ok, not my finest but not the worst, so I got out the aircraft feeling quite happy with myself.
With IFR flights you need to be in about two hours prior to the blocks off time. During that time you need to pre flight the aircraft, do the mass & balance and performance sheets, enter a flight plan and if it's a route flight, fill in a flight log, have the lesson brief with the instructor then walk out to the aircraft twenty to thirty minutes before the blocks off time, due to the engine run up time and the time it takes to programme the G1000. You need to be quite punctual because you would have booked a slot with Hamilton and Christchurch control for a certain time window and if you're too far outside of that then you may have to cancel your flight so timing and preparation is extremely important.
An IFR Flight Plan
I was up early again on Saturday, with a blocks off time of 07:30. It was the first IFR routes flight. I planned a leg to Tauranga for an RNAV arrival and approach then back to Hamilton for the same. It was so quiet and calm in the air at that time. There were quite a few clouds so cruising over the blanket was pretty cool. All went well apart from a slight mistake which doesn't seem like much but would have failed me on an IR test. On my descent into Tauranga I left the go-around maybe a second or two late and as a result sank about five feet below the minimum altitude (MDA), triggering the alert, "MINIMUMS, MINIMUMS". I must have been below the MDA for less than a second but it would still be enough to fail a test so I was a bit annoyed with that but apart from that, all good. I only have two more Cessna flights before moving on to the twin star. Very exciting!
As soon as I'd landed I shot off to play cricket, forgetting my socks and trainers, IDIOT! I spent ninety one overs in the field and we conceded 424 runs. It was long! I then had to open the batting and try to see out the rest of the day. Just 1.2 overs into the innings the rain came and the day was finished, with me sat on four not out. That means I'll still be in next Saturday so I think I'll need to have a very nice word with ops to let me off for that.
Sunday was my day off and I went to Aukland for a trip on an actual America's Cup yacht which was so cool! It was used in the 1995 (the year I was born) America's Cup by a Japanese team. There were four crew on board so we all got to get involved with the winching and stuff. I even got to helm it for a bit which was just amazing! How many people can claim they've helmed a genuine America's Cup boat... We even saw some Orca Dolphins. It was a great way to top off another eventful and highly enjoyable week.
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