A Moment I Will Never Forget...

Firstly I'd like to apologise for the month long break from my last blog post, it has been incredibly busy and thankfully after a critical few weeks, I have finally been able to get some time to start blogging again.

The latest milestones for me so far have been the completion of my first solo flight and my first progress test, both of which I shall describe in this blog post.

In my last post I was on lesson AP9 which was essentially an introduction into IFR flying under the hood, so to follow on from that, I'll talk about the lead up to the first solo flight. Lessons AP11 to AP14 all focus on flying circuits. To briefly explain, you must fly in what's called a circuit when practicing take offs and landings. The image that I have conveniently found and placed below illustrates what is involved. 

Left Circuit

Different flight training programmes have different procedures when it comes to flying in a circuit. Oxford Aviation Academy have their own way which goes like this:

1. Take off
2. Climb at 76KIAS (Vy)
3. After take off checklist at 200ft AGL
4. Climbing turn to crosswind before 700ft AGL with a bank of no more than 20 degrees
5. Climb to 1000ft AGL and level off at 95KIAS on the downwind leg
6. Perform landing checklist on downwind
7. Turn to base when 45 degrees from the landing runway at no more than 30 degrees angle of bank
8. Power to 1500rpm on turn to base, speed check, flaps to 25, trim for descent at 76KIAS
9. Turn to Final, max 30 degrees angle of bank
10. Trim for 70KIAS on Final
11. Flaps 40 at 500-400ft AAL
12. Final checklist and stable approach call at 300ft AAL
13. 66KIAS above the runway threshold

Please note that some of this is subject to change as the school are working on a new checklist and possibly new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). This is because some of these have been brought straight over from Goodyear and may not necessarily be suited for operations at Falcon Field which is a much busier airport.

Those three lessons on circuits prepare everyone for there first solo which comes on AP15. AP14 is really an hour where the instructor assesses whether you have the aptitude to handle the aircraft on your own. Of course by then you will have only had 14 hours of experience so not everyone is able to go solo on their first attempt. I needed one extra hour since I found it particularly difficult to learn how to land, especially since I only really started having full control over landings on lesson AP11, and seeing as you are only able to usually get an average of 5 landings in on touch and goes with the occasional go around, it wasn't enough for me to feel fully confident doing it on my first attempt.

After my second attempt on AP14, my instructor endorsed me and I was then able to take Archer N4403N up on one circuit all by myself! I still remember exactly how it felt when he left the aircraft. I remember the surreal feeling when the door was closed and latched, and I was inside the aircraft by myself for the first time. It's still amazing to think that so much responsibility was put in my hands at that moment.

As soon as I was cleared from Dispatch to leave the ramp, I was on my way and it was game face from then onward I didn't stop to think about anything else until I was trimmed and steady on downwind when I had time to fully take in the scenery and pinch myself to remember that I was actually flying an aircraft all on my own. My dream was coming true.

My amazing circuit, though I wasn't actually doing 47kts on final

There was a brief moment of nervousness when I was holding short of the runway and when I flared for landing, but overall I wasn't too nervous. For me I didn't really have time to think about it, and I realised that it was one of those moments that determine whether or not you'll ever have it in you to suck it up, and actually believe in yourself with confidence that you can successfully take an aircraft up on your own.

At the end of it I was both relieved and excited to have made it back with all the landing gears intact, then to be greeted by a pleased instructor and a few supportive classmates who watched me the whole time. That is truly a moment that I will never forget.

Back in one piece

There is of course a ceremony that takes place for all of the Oxford Aviation Academy students after their first solo. What better ceremony could there be other than being thrown into the swimming pool with your uniform still on by your fellow classmates! On my day several other people did their first solo too, so we had a joint ceremony. It does feel quite strange swimming in the pool with your uniform on. 

Mid throw

Solo pool throwing ceremony

The next significant thing that came after was the progress test. At OAA there are four that have to be taken before the CPL Skills Test. The main objective here is for one of the senior instructors to assess whether you are up to scratch and meet the required skill level at that point in the course. For the first progress test (PT1) you're simply expected to fly a circuit, perform several touch and goes and a go-around. Of course you're expected to perform the pre-flight brief to the examiner such as weight and balance, performance and weather. As soon as you're in the aircraft, he/she becomes Mr/Miss Silent and you are then left to your own devices. It's pretty similar to a driving test. 

There are three grades you can get: Pass, Partial or Fail. I'm assuming that everyone knows what pass or fail mean so I'll explain what is meant by a partial. Using PT1 as an example, there are several assessment criteria under their own group. So for example: Ground Operations, Airmanship, Aircraft Handling etc. And so if you have a scenario where a student does very well in the air but does poorly on the radios, then they've met the requirements for the actual flying but they are still not worthy of continuing due to the lack of skill in handling radio communications. In this case, a partial is awarded. 

The good news is that I passed, with a 3 out of 4 grade which I was happy with at that stage. My examiner was a nice chap called Tom Armstrong, who gave a very good debrief after my flight. He mentioned things to look out for in the future such as visual reference points for the circuit and SOP power settings, judicious rudder control when below 300ft. All of the points were relevant to my flight and extremely valuable points for me to take on for my future flying. 

Everyone in flight training has their difficulties. For me it was trying to grasp landings in the space of three hours, for others it was radio communications, and the list goes on. The point is that the training in aviation has no end to it. Each stage has gotten more and more difficult, but whenever things do get tough (and trust me they will for everyone at some point) I always think about how fortunate I am to be able to wear the uniform, walk up to the aircraft, preflight, take off and land. When I write it like that it doesn't seem like much, but when I think about the detail that goes into everything, I quickly realise that there is no other job that compares.

Although I've only really scratched the surface of what's to come in training, I do know that each test will get harder, and even when I'm employed I'll still be tested through line checks. This is part of what I think makes this career path so rewarding.

There is no other job that compares

Completing my first solo is something that I will never forget, and passing my first progress test gave me so much extra confidence for my training. Stay tuned...