I phoned Coventry in the morning to check what we were hoping to do was possible, and was given the Ok. The only slight fly in the ointment was the fact that there was no food available at Coventry (an important consideration when choosing a destination!) so we decided to drop in to Wellesbourne on the way for lunch.

David arrived at Kemble before me and had already carried out an ‘A’ check on the aircraft. The airfield was officially closed, but based aircraft were allowed to operate on an indemnity basis. As a result I think we were pretty much the only people there as we prepared ourselves for the off. David had some difficulty in gaining authorisation for his flight, but eventually got hold of an Instructor and we were good to go.

We settled ourselves in the aircraft, with David rummaging around getting his new video camera set up while I went through the pre-start checks. The engine started easily, but only ran for a minute or so before spluttering and dying. I’d heard that noise before, so was pretty sure I knew the reason for it, and I was proved correct. I’d managed to forget to turn the fuel on, so the engine started and ran for a while until it exhausted the fuel in the lines between the tanks and the engine.

Took a couple of tries to get the engine going again, but once it was running reliably we prepared to go. This was where we hit snag number 2! I gradually increased the throttle well beyond the point at which you could reasonably expect the aircraft to move, but it just wasn’t budging. My first thought was that we were still tied down or chocked, but a quick check proved that the 3 wheels had actually sunk into the ground a little due to the recent wet weather and the fact that the aircraft was full of fuel.

I went off in search for a tow bar, but couldn’t find one. With a bit of exertion between the two of us we managed to rock the aircraft forwards and backwards to get the wheels out of the depressions, before mounting up again and preparing to go. I moved us off the grass as quickly as possible to prevent us sinking in again, before pausing on the hard taxyway and completing the checks prior to moving off.

I’d planned a route out from Kemble, tracking the NDB up to the Chedworth disused before intercepting a radial from the DTY VOR. The plan was to continue on this radial until we identified Wellesbourne, before breaking off and heading up to the field. All the pre-departure checks were normal, and we were soon lined up on the runway ready for the off. As we rolled David reminded me to apply some into-wind aileron, and it was noticeably harder to lift the Warrior off the ground compared the Arrow that I had flown exclusively recently.

After the noise abatement turn and allowing sufficient distance from Kemble to avoid the local villages, I turned to the right, ready to intercept the required outbound radio from the KMB NDB. David took over while I got myself comfortable under the hood, and I then took control back before intercepting the outbound track.

I had the correct radial set on the OBS, with DTY tuned and identified. As the needle came in indicating we were approaching the correct radial I turned to intercept. We changed to Brize for a Basic service and continued on. We were benefitting from a significant tailwind at our cruising altitude, so it wasn’t long before we had got close to Wellesbourne, and I removed the hood.

I acquired Wellesbourne visually, confirming its location with the GPS. My initial call to them was somewhat clumsy, with me failing to give the FISO all of the required information in my initial call. As a result he had to prompt me a couple of times for the information I’d missed. I neglected to check the DI before setting course direct to the field, assuming that I was South of Wellesbourne (when in fact I was more to the South East. This led to some confusion in identifying the active runway, which was soon cleared up with a bit of help from David and a check of the DI. Once oriented, I set myself up for an overhead join for their runway 18 with a right hand circuit.

As is usual whenever I visit Wellesbourne, there were aircraft in the circuit and others joining. Between us we picked out the aircraft in the circuit, and I set us up for an Overhead Join with a wide Deadside descent keeping clear of Wellesbourne village. There were a couple of aircraft ahead of me as we turned Downwind, but separation was good and we were well set up to follow them in to land.

I ended up slightly high as we turned Final, but soon got the height off. Due to how busy the circuit was, it was difficult to get my Final call in, but I managed on very Short Final. We later had a discussion between us as to whether I could have landed without getting this call in. I think we would have been within our rights to (a FISO cannot issue clearances or instructions to aircraft in the air or on the ground past the runway hold lines) but it’s always best to make sure everyone knows what is happening.

As we were on Final it was clear that there was a fairly stiff crosswind that was also gusting somewhat, so the last moments of the Approach were quite busy. I thought I was handling it well, and achieved a nice gentle touchdown on the main wheels with the stall warner sounding gently. However the wind must have gusted at that point, as we were soon drifting off to the left of the centreline and several feet in the air. As I’d been slightly high I’d landed slightly long, and I took the decision to abandon the landing attempt and just go around. As I became established in the climb I got a ‘Good Decision’ from David on my right!

So, around the circuit we went again. On Downwind I became aware of an aircraft ahead of us and to the right, tracking right to left to the North of the field. He continued on this track before then turning right to establish himself on a very late Downwind leg. Both David and I were very confused by this, as it was a very strange way to join the circuit! I slowed us down a little to allow him to get ahead of us, and extended Downwind to increase the separation.

Back on Final, I decided to stick with two stages of flap and keep the speed up a little. The wind was a little more predictable as I began the roundout, and we touched down slightly firmly but without any dramas like on the last attempt. I’d missed the first turnoff (which is quite short anyway at Wellesbourne) but was undecided as to whether I should take the turning for the cross runway (the FISO was again on the radio so I couldn’t ask his advice). Just as I was passing it he asked me to take the turn, before realising I was already past. I tried to keep the speed up to reach the end of the runway and exit, and we taxyed towards the Tower to park next to a rather nice looking TB10.

Parked up at Wellesbourne

As usual, by the time I’d reached the Tower to pay the landing fee, there were no aircraft in the sky! Thank you Wellesbourne, you always seem to make things interesting for me! I joined David in the very busy cafe (despite it still being before noon) and we ordered our lunch. I opted for my usual sausage sandwich, while David went for the more substantial ‘large breakfast’. When it arrived, he certainly had no cause for complaint about the description!

A busy Wellesbourne Cafe

Once we’d eaten I phoned Coventry, and was told they could accommodate me on the ILS from 1330 onwards. We took our time getting ready, before heading out to the aircraft. I’d planned a route from Wellesbourne to track towards the DTY VOR, and from there a Direct Daventry approach to the ILS at Coventry.

We headed out to the aircraft and I gave it a quick check over. Once I was happy, we climbed in and I began preparations for departure. We were behind another aircraft at the hold carrying out our power checks, and there were a number in the circuit and landing meaning there was a short delay before we could take off. The aircraft ahead took to the runway, and I followed him a few moments later.

He seemed to be taking a long time to climb out and clear the departure path, so I gave him a bit more time than I normally would before beginning my takeoff roll. The wind conditions were calmer as we took off, and we climbed out keeping a good eye on the other aircraft. I ensured we were well past him before putting the hood on, and then turned back to intercept the 270 radial towards DTY.

I could tell that my tracking of the VOR was improving (it has been a long time since I flew in ‘real’ Instrument conditions), although I did have one little ‘wobble’ as I was trying to arrange the charts and ensure all the nav aids were tuned, setup and identified. We were now in contact with Coventry, and I was given approval for the approach, and asked to report when I was established on the 348 radial from DTY.

In order to avoid the potential ‘honeypot’ of the VOR, I turned a few miles early to intercept, and made a good job of getting established and maintaining the appropriate track. I made a slight mistake in switching the DME away from DTY to the Coventry ILS, but soon realised when the Controller asked me to report at a certain distance. A quick check of the plate showed that this was based on the DTY DME and not Coventry, so I switched back and continued.

I left the pre-landing checks a little late, but had them out of the way before needing to turn to intercept the localiser. Coventry were warning us of other traffic in the vicinity, and at one point David was concerned that he had spotted some traffic and would have to take over. However he convinced himself he was mistaken, and we continued.

I made a good job of intercepting the localiser, and my progress down the ILS went really well. In hindsight it may have been more beneficial if there had been more drift to take account of (the wind was almost straight down the runway at Coventry) as this made it pretty easy for me to stay on the localiser. Soon the glideslope became active and again I think I made a pretty good job of setting an appropriate descent rate.

Coventry had other aircraft in the visual circuit, one was cleared to turn ahead of us, with another told to extend Downwind to position behind us. David spotted the runway several miles out, and as we approached about 600 feet AAL I looked up to see the runway right where it was supposed to be. It’s very satisfying to fly a procedure like that and have it all go to plan!

I removed the hood, and was told by the Controller to expect a late landing clearance due to the traffic ahead of us. As we got close to landing the other aircraft was still on the runway (but right down the other end of the 2km of tarmac!) and we were given a ‘land after’ clearance. The wind conditions were much less tricky now (as well as there being almost no crosswind) so I made a decent landing, although again it was a little firmer than I would prefer.

We were asked to keep our speed up and told where to vacate the runway. David had the ground plan out and directed me to the appropriate turnoff, and I took the Controller’s offer of a Marshaller due to my being unfamiliar with Coventry. There was a little confusion as the Marshaller (a member of the airfield fire crew) hadn’t been told our registration, so we were both a little unsure as to whether we should be working together! I was marshalled across a fairly busy apron to a parking space, and David helped him push us back to park tidily while I steered from inside the cockpit.

Due to the airfield being largely closed, there was some difficulty in finding someone to pay landing fees too. In the end David settled these while I stayed with the aircraft as it was refuelled, settling up with the refueller. Fuel was very reasonably priced, and I think we only paid something like £24 for our landing and two ILS approaches (David was to fly one to a Missed Approach as we left). Very reasonable indeed given the size of the airfield and the facilities available.

Now it was David’s turn. He’d booked out with Air Traffic while paying the landing fees, and arranged for him to do an ILS to a Missed Approach before we departed. We had no real plan for the return leg, so I quickly plotted a route using the DTY and HON VORs, before intercepting a track using the KMB NDB to get back to Kemble. I quickly programmed this into the GPS as David prepared himself to get going.

We taxyed to around the midpoint of  the runway, carrying out our power checks at the hold. Another aircraft carried out the power checks behind us, and we were both cleared to backtrack. For some reason the other aircraft was cleared to take off before us (perhaps we had held him up a little) and we backtracked further down the runway. I quickly tried to familiarise myself with the Missed Approach procedure before we took off.

There was some confusion in the heights required, and I tried to clarify this with David. I think we probably exceeded the heights a couple of times as we sorted out where we should be, an indication that we hadn’t adequately planned and briefed this part of the flight. I took control briefly from David so that he could put the hood on and fly the rest of the flight in simulated IMC.

David was asked whether he wanted vectors to the ILS or to fly the procedure, and told the Controller that we would fly the procedure. The Controller then cleared us back to the hold, but David had intended to fly the same ‘Direct Daventry’ approach to the ILS as I had earlier. He informed the Controller of this, and we were cleared for that approach.

David tracked nicely to the VOR, but overshot a little as we turned onto the outbound track. The rest of the approach went fairly well though, but I had a little difficulty spotting the airfield in the low sun. Despite these being definite VFR conditions, I was happy that we were actually on an Instrument Approach! The airfield soon appeared, and David descended down to Decision Height before executing the Missed Approach.

Again, there was a little confusion between us as to what height we should be at, but we resolved this and continued tracking towards the VOR until well clear of Birmingham’s airspace. I asked David to fly a heading of 200, and to intercept the appropriate radial from the DTY VOR. Once established on this radial I realised that the track I’d planned would take us through the overhead of the glider field at Edge Hill, so I changed the radial by 10 degrees or so to keep us well clear. On this leg we also climbed to the appropriate Quadrantal Level of 4000 feet.

David tracked the VOR radial nicely, and a quick peek at the GPS showed that we were only managing a ground speed of about 60 knots with an indicated airspeed of 90. As we were in good VMC, we elected to descend to see if we could get a less severe headwind, and dropping down to 3000 feet gained us another 10 knots or so of groundspeed.

The GPS track shows a bit of a deviation from track as we intercepted the appropriate radial from the HON VOR, but David got us back on track and we started talking to Brize. I reminded David that we would be intercepting the correct radial on the KMB NDB to track towards Kemble, and we talked to Brize for a Basic Service. The frequency was pretty quiet with not many other aircraft in the skies.

I noticed that David had missed the turn towards Kemble, and (slightly sneakily) allowed him to continue. We were now heading direct for the Brize Class D airspace, so I decided to allow him to continue for another mile or so to see if he’d notice. This was somewhat foiled by the Controller at Brize (obviously concerned that we were heading for an infringement) checking that our intentions were to remain clear of Brize Airspace.

It turned out that David had forgotten that we had planned to track the NDB (another indication that we should have spent more time planning this leg) so I had him turn to the West so that we could intercept the correct radial. The Controller asked us to remain below 3000 feet to enable a departure to climb above us without any conflict, and we continued on towards Cirencester.

David removed the hood so that we could fly the approach to Kemble visually, and we both acquired it directly ahead of us as we passed Cirencester. We were flying through a small shower and there were threatening clouds ahead of us, which made David consider whether we should just join on a Right Base rather than flying a full circuit. The downside of doing this was that we would not be able to check out the windsock, but it would help ensure we were down before the rain arrived.

He elected to join Crosswind, and we saw that the wind was perhaps 45 degrees off the runway, but appeared to be relatively calm at 5 or 10 knots or so. David completed the pre-landing checks in the circuit, and brought us back to Kemble for a nice touchdown. David commented that he felt he had perhaps flared a little too high, but to be honest there wasn’t much wrong with the landing!

Rather than taxy on the wet grass, David backtracked the runway and we taxyed back to the Club’s parking area. Mindful of the issues we’d had getting moving, David parked the aircraft a foot or two back from where it usually would be parked (to avoid parking in the same ruts) and we began the task of getting all of our gear out and covering the aircraft as the rain began to arrive.

My tracks

Leg 1 profile

Leg 2 profile

David's track

Leg 3 profile

This was a very satisfying start to the New Year. Just days after the year began I’d gained some valuable IMC practice, flown an Approach and visited a new airfield! Coupled with returning to Wellesbourne (always one of my favourite destinations), a good lunch and some excellent company, this flight was very enjoyable indeed. There were a number of things that we could have done better (spending more time before the flight deciding exactly what we would do being the main one), but it’s been a good way of getting back into flying together. Our plan is to try to do more similar flights in the near future, perhaps using Brize and Benson to practice Approaches if that can be arranged.

Total flight time today: 1:35
Total flight time to date: 176:55

• 36:50 flying hours (34:50 P1, 2:00 dual), including differences training for a Variable Pitch Propeller and Retractable Gear

• 34 flights (including 2 training flights for the differences training)

• 13 landaways (much better than last year!)

• 5 new airfields visited.

My 2011 goals were (summarised):

• Complex signoff

• Aerobatics

• Night Qualification

• Taildragger

• Make use of IMC rating

• Less ‘quick local’ flights

• Longer range and a trip to the Continent

• 100 hours P1

I managed to complete the ‘Complex’ (Variable Pitch Prop and Retractable Gear) signoff relatively soon after the Arrow came back online with the Club. I also managed to make a much higher percentage of my flights ‘real’ flights as opposed to just a quick local. This was important to ensure I didn’t get bored with doing the same old flights over and over again.

I also passed through the ‘magic’ 100 hours P1 barrier, which has increased my Currency limits to 60 days and also enabled me to become self-authorising (I no longer need a signoff from an Instructor each time I fly a Lyneham Flying Club aircraft).

However, the IMC rating has gone all but unused this year. As RAF Lyneham wound down we had less access to Instrument Approaches, and we were eventually forced to leave part way through the year.

Sadly, the money given to me nearly two years ago for some Aeros is still unused, and I still don’t have that elusive Night Qualification! I also failed to get any taildragger time in. Although I did make flights to some slightly further destinations (Lydd, Pembrey and Haverfordwest) I haven’t yet used my ‘Northern’ chart or visited the Continent.

So, next year I think I should aim to:

• Make at least one trip to the Continent

• Visit at least one destination on my Northern Chart (Sherburn or Blackpool?)

• Visit Caernarfon / Anglesey

• Take part in some more ‘sociable’ flying like Club fly-outs or visits to fly-ins.

• Regain IMC currency in readiness for my IMC Rating renewal

• Get some experience of spinning at least, with perhaps some aeros as well

Due to a haircut appointment, I arrived slightly later than normal at Kemble, and set about preparing the aircraft. It was a cold morning and I’d had to defrost my car, but the aircraft were parked in the sun so there was no ice remaining on them. Once all appeared well, I gave Luned a ring and got her to head off from home with Catrin. David had already left to fly via Henstridge with Sean, and had dropped me a text to find out my ETA.

The weather for the day was glorious, the only ‘bad’ thing on all the relevant TAFs was ‘few at 3000 feet’. Once Luned and Catrin arrived, we told Catrin that we weren’t in fact here just to watch the planes (something she loves doing) but were in fact going for a trip in ‘Dad’s new plane’. Catrin was suitably enthusiastic about the prospect, so we all headed out to the Arrow and got ourselves settled in.

I had been a little concerned since starting to fly the Arrow due to the limited space in the rear. However, Catrin seemed happy enough sitting behind me, and there was nobody in the right hand seat, so Luned had plenty of leg-room with the seat pushed forward.

Catrin (and friends) ready to fly

All settled and comfortable, we started up and taxyed out to 26. There were two aircraft carrying out power checks in front us as we approached the hold, so I carried out my checks in turn. Once the other aircraft had departed, I announced ‘Ready for Departure’ and headed out on to the runway. The engine was running nicely in the cool air, and it felt like there was plenty of performance as we began our takeoff roll and became airborne.

For a change, I remembered to dab the brakes before raising the gear, and made a right turn once airborne to keep clear of the noise sensitive area just off the end of the runway. Climbed in stages to FL45, and set course for the BCN VOR.

I’d deliberately planned a very simple route, direct to the BCN VOR, and from there direct to Swansea. Luned helped out spotting a glider off to our right and well below us, and we were soon crossing the Severn into Wales. I’d been listening in to Bristol, but didn’t give them a call due to the shortness of this leg. However, as we crossed the Severn we switched to Cardiff and gave them a call for the remainder of the flight.

Clear skies passing the Severn Bridges

While on frequency with Cardiff we heard David talking to them on his leg from Henstridge. He was several miles ahead of us, and left the frequency as we passed the VOR. We set course for Swansea (descending to FL40 while doing so), and I tried to identify the various towns laid out below us.

The skies were generally clear, but when we encountered a cloud ahead of us I decided to continue through it rather than trying to detour around. Dropping my focus onto the instruments, we continued through the cloud, experience some bumps as we did so. The cloud carried on for some 5 minutes or so, and I was becoming concerned that it wasn’t quite as small a cloud as I originally thought! Deciding that it wouldn’t be a good idea to be stuck in cloud too long, I announced that I was descending to 3000 feet, and began my descent just as we came through the other side of the cloud.

As we approached Swansea I switched over to them, just in time to head David making his ‘Final’ call before landing. Also a Student was on frequency in the same general area as us, so I announced our position and level to help him realise where we were. Around this time Catrin also fell asleep, which had the possibility of complicating things later when we needed to vacate the aircraft!

The parachute aircraft started its drop as we approached, so we positioned for a long straight in approach (SkyDemon was very helpful in this respect!) and continued our approach. I carried out the pre-landing checks and continued, when we were about 3nm from the airfield another aircraft began backtracking in readiness to depart. Not being familiar with Swansea, I was a little concerned that this would leave the runway occupied as I approached, but before I got within 1 mile the other aircraft had departed, so I could continue the approach.

G-AZWS Final, Contact 1 on the runway

The approach ended in one of my best ever landings in the Arrow, with a nice gentle touchdown and plenty of elevator authority to smoothly lower the nosewheel. We received good directions from the A/G operator as to where to park, and I parked us up next to an aircraft from (I think) the British Airways Flying Club, based at High Wycombe. We were even snapped by someone taking photos near the runway, and Sean managed to get hold of a copy.

Snapped while landing - courtesy of Roger Winser

David was refuelling G-VICC, and soon taxyed next to us before parking slightly ahead. We managed to wake Catrin up without too much drama, and we all headed in. David had already paid for his fuel and landing fee, so he took Luned and Catrin into the main building while I went to pay. Had some difficulty finding the Cafe, before eventually joining everyone for a well-earned sausage sandwich and cup of tea.

The Cafe was typical airfield stuff, and the food was fine. David waited a little while for his food because they said the couldn’t find him, and we all chatted as we ate. We also (by complete coincidence) met up with Cloudman (apologies for not remembering his first name!) who we’d met at the Flyer meal on the previous Thursday. He’s currently changing over from learning to fly helicopters to fixed wing aircraft, and was at the airfield with his family.

Once we’d all eaten, we again began the ‘difficult’ job of getting Catrin safely back out to the aircraft and settled in. The parachuting plane was heading in as we crossed the apron, so we had to try to get out of its way before it arrived. David was slightly ahead of us, and got a nice photo of us all crossing the apron.

Flying Family returning to the aircraft

Meanwhile, we got ourselves settled in, and watched David departing as I prepared to get the Arrow started and ready to fly.

Catrin waves to David as he departs in G-VICC

We again joined a queue of aircraft carrying out their power checks, before taking our turn to backtrack and take off. I carried out an abbreviated left hand circuit, with Luned again spotting a motor glider (that had departed just before us) and another aircraft joining downwind below and to our right. We set course back to the BCN VOR, and signed off with Swansea to talk to Cardiff again.

Passing Swansea

As we walked from the Cafe David and I had briefly discussed our return route and level. In hindsight we should have paid more attention to this. In the end I opted to fly slightly higher than I’d told him, and he flew lower so it worked out well. While on frequency with Cardiff they did pass our positions to each other, with David reporting level at 2500 feet while I was at 3500 feet.

We overtook them after the VOR (we didn’t spot him, but later found out that Sean had seen us) and continued on towards Kemble.

Around this time another pilot (flying an SR22) came on frequency requesting a Zone Transit of Cardiff airspace. Sadly he was a perfect example of what’s bad about a lot of people’s radio work, with long drawn out responses giving un-necessary information, along with not fully understanding what the Controller was telling him. He tied up the frequency for quite a while, and when I elected to talk to Bristol he was on their frequency too!

As I made the initial call to Bristol Catrin was having a bit of a moment in the back due to her breaking her fingernail playing with the switch on her headset (despite being told repeatedly not to!). As a result she was screaming while I was trying to pass my message, and the response was along the lines of ‘Basic Service, QNH 1015, sounds like you have some excited passengers with you!’. I read back the required items with a resigned ‘Affirm!’ and we continued.

In hindsight I probably shouldn’t have bothered talking to Bristol, as I had barely completed the initial call before we were approaching Kemble (150mph indicated with a 20 knot tailwind meant we were moving pretty rapidly!). I signed off and contacted Kemble, before setting myself up for an Overhead Join for 26. For some reason it took a lot of thinking to get myself oriented correctly (perhaps I was just overly conscious of having joined for the wrong runway recently) but we made our Deadside descent and turned Downwind just as David reported in the overhead.

The rest of the circuit was uneventful, and I pointed out the noise sensitive areas to Luned as we completed the circuit. Went through the runway centreline a little as I turned Final, but this was easily rectified and I again brought us down to a nice gentle touchdown. Perhaps I’m finally getting the hang of this landing lark!

I refuelled the aircraft while Luned and Catrin watched a helicopter departing, and we taxyed back just after David, and with the other two Warriors in the Lyneham Club fleet landing just after us. Once back in the parking area David helpfully marshalled me in, and I dispatched Luned and Catrin to AV8 while I tidied up the aircraft and put the cover back in.

Tracks flown

Outbound profile

Return profile

Once this was done, I headed back to the office to settle up for the flight, before joining everyone in AV8 for some well-earned tea and medals. This will almost certainly be my last flight of the year, and it was a very eventful one despite being generally routine. I’d added a new airfield to the logbook as well as taking part in a mini flyout and giving Luned and Catrin their first taste of the Arrow. Hopefully we can do more of the same in the coming year.

Total flight time today: 1:55
Total flight time to date: 175:20

The original plan was to use a landing voucher to go in to Dunkeswell and check out their new catering facilities. However, the usual early morning call there showed that they had a low overcast, so I opted to delay the final decision on destination until later.

We arrived at Kemble to find the (now) typical low cloud and poor visibility, and David was outside the new Club portacabin adopting the typical pilot’s pose (phone in hand, eyes looking forlornly skywards at the weather). We both decided to delay our departures for the promised improvement in the weather.

As Kemble’s weather began to improve, there was still little improvement at Dunkeswell, so we decided to rethink the destination and all go to Gloucester. David was initially considering flying there also, but in the end decided to come along in the Arrow to see what it was like. I used the excellent Web capabilities of SkyDemon to plan the flight and print out PLOGs for the outbound and return journey before we headed out to the aircraft.

Having two willing helpers to remove covers and the like certainly made a difference getting the aircraft prepared, and after an A check we were soon ready to go. The weather was still far from ideal after our departure, and I was only able to climb to around 1500 feet or so to remain clear of cloud. All signs were that it was improving though, so I was happy to continue with the flight.

James in the back

We headed out to the Severn Bridges, with David in the front seat helpfully prompting me to avoid the Restricted Areas around the two power stations (they only go up to 2000 feet so usually aren’t a factor, but today we were lower than that). We headed North from there towards Ross on Wye (again to avoid the power stations) and I listened to the ATIS at Gloucester. They were still reporting a cloud base of around 1500 feet, which isn’t great but was plenty for our purposes today.

Severn bridge in the murk

I called them up and was given a direct join for runway 09 (we were heading in almost directly from the West so this was very helpful). Despite the help of their NDB, the airfield was quite difficult to spot in the murk, but we soon spotted it and set up for the approach.

I was having some difficulty in getting the speed back to the normal Final approach speed until I realised I hadn’t deployed the normal 2 stages of flap (these would normally be lowered as you make the Base leg turn, which we weren’t doing today). Once these were down the speed soon bled off, and I concentrated on the rest of the approach.

Mindful of the poor landings I’d made last time James flew with me, I made a point of attempting to improve on this. Fortunately I managed to pull off  a very nice smooth landing. Had to query the parking location with the Tower before eventually pulling into a space that had just been vacated by a departing PA28.

Parked up at Gloucester

We had a very pleasant lunch at Gloucester (although the service was slightly slow). The three of us all chatted while we waited though, and the view out of the window showed that the weather appeared to be improving too. We had a good view of aircraft departing on 09 from where we were sitting.

We headed back to the aircraft through the impressive terminal building at Gloucester, paying the landing fee and booking out on our way. I made the mistake of telling them I was departing to the South, when in fact I really needed to depart to the West to head for Ross on Wye again.

Settled in the aircraft, I used the map provided to try to map out the expected taxy route. David’s ‘local’ knowledge (he trained for his Night Qualification here) came in useful as otherwise I would have turned in the wrong direction out of the parking area! The taxy down to the hold area for 09 was long, but gave plenty of time to get all the checks done and Nav aids tuned.

On departure I turned Crosswind as we passed the impressive looking GCHQ ‘doughnut’, and initially turned South before realising my earlier mistake when booking out. After informing the Tower we turned to the West towards Ross on Wye.

GCHQ 'doughnut'

Bristol seemed a little more busy on the way back, so I elected to call them up and received a Basic Service. We heard them informing another aircraft of our position as ‘Traffic’, but they were 2000 feet above us so there was little danger of any conflict. James pointed out an aircraft up in the airway some 20,000 feet or so above us, but it was clear that wasn’t them!

The visibility on the leg between the Severn Bridges and Kemble was pretty poor (although as usual my sunglasses caused me to think it was better than it actually was – they seem to cut through poor visibility quite well) and Kemble was initially difficult to spot in the murk. The cloudbase was all but gone though, so climbing for an overhead join was easy.

Again David proved invaluable in realising that we were approaching too low. He’d set QFE on the second altimeter as soon as it was given to us, but I’d neglected to switch the main gauge over as we approached. As such we were some 500 feet lower than we should have been for an Overhead Join.

As we approached we heard both SNUZ and GLUE making final preparations for landing, and I set us up for a nice Overhead Join (for the correct runway this time!). As we turned to begin the descent we spotted another aircraft below us that had reported Base. However he continued a long way South of the runway before turning back to intercept the correct track.

As we made completed the deadside descent, we were now looking into the setting sun at the airfield. The runway all but disappeared, making the Crosswind and Downwind legs quite difficult to judge. I managed to keep us in the right place, and as I turned Base I made the mistake of using the G-SNUZ callsign (no idea where that came from!). The FISO was on the ball though (G-SNUZ had just landed so it wasn’t too difficult!) and asked ‘Is that actually Whisky Sierra?’. Whoops…been a while since I used the wrong callsign!

I turned Final slightly late, and had to make a correction to regain the runway centreline. The rest of the approach was good though, and I brought us in for a passable landing, flaring slightly high leading to a firmer touchdown than I would have liked.

I was initially unsure as to whether we’d need fuel, but it proved to be just below tabs at the pumps, so it was good that we refuelled. We were then treated to an impromptu aerobatics display by a rather old shiny looking taildragger.

Shiny taildragger treated us to some aeros

After taxying back the process of putting the aircraft to bed was again made much easier by having 2 willing helpers. We all retired to AV8 for a well earned cuppa!

The Routes Flown

Outbound Profile

Return Profile

This was another flight that slightly pushed the envelope in terms of weather. However, I was glad I’d made the decision to go despite the relatively poor conditions on departure. We were legal VFR for the flight, and always had the option of an Instrument approach into Gloucester should conditions not be good when we arrived. Was also good to show James that I really do know how to land!

Total flight time today: 1:35
Total flight time to date: 173:25

David was planning to take his family away to France for the weekend, but the weather was very mixed in the morning. I met up with them in AV8 as David’s daughter looked forlornly at the weather forecasts with David. He eventually took the decision to cancel his flight, so I headed over to the Club’s new offices after helping David put G-VICC to bed and carry all the lifejackets etc. back in.

The Club has a new portacabin at Kemble to act as our base for the foreseeable future, and this was my first visit. Things were moved into there in a little rush due to the recent demise of The Flying Club Kemble (our previous hosts at the airfield) so things are still in a state of flux at the moment. However, it will be nice to have our ‘own’ space again, and hopefully things will begin to pick up again at the Club.

The local TAFs had shown that the cloud base should gradually lift and dissipate in the early afternoon, and as I carried out my leisurely walk around of the Arrow this certainly seemed to be the case. It had been several weeks since I last flew, so I was careful to follow the checklist in order not to forget anything. The rotating beacon wasn’t working, but a glance at the Circuit Breakers showed that its circuit breaker had popped. I reset it and it appeared to work, so continued before settling myself into the aircraft.

My original plan had been to land away at Dunkeswell to see their new catering facilities. However, I’d promised my family I wouldn’t be too long, and the rather unpredictable weather also contributed in me deciding to just go for a quick local flight. I programmed in a route direct to the Severn Bridges and back, before preparing to fly.

This being my first flight from our new parking area I was a little unsure of the taxy route. However, we are just off a concrete taxyway (that currently leads past a 747 that is being broken up!) and I soon found the entrance to the grass taxyway that would lead me to the North Apron in readiness for power checks prior to a departure on runway 08. As I approached the Tower G-ELUE was approaching from the other direction, so I told the Tower I would hold where I was to allow the other aircraft to pass. Apparently he was just about to ask me to do the same, so at least I still have the ability to show some good airmanship!

One of Ultimate High’s Bulldogs followed me on to the North Apron and positioned himself behind me and to the left, and we both carried out our power checks together. All were normal, and once I’d carried out the pre-departure checks I announced I was ready to go. I was cleared to the Hold and asked to report lining up, and once in position had to wait a little while as another aircraft appeared on frequency with a rather rambling message. I was mindful of the previous occasion where I’d been admonished for taking off without clearance, so waited for the FISO’s ‘Take off at your discretion’ before beginning my departure.

The departure was normal, although I again forgot to dab the brakes before raising the landing gear. Carried out the majority of a circuit by turning Crosswind and Downwind before climbing up to 2500 feet or so to head out to the Severn Bridges. I found myself in cloud around 2200 feet or so, so descended again to around 1500 feet to maintain clearance from the cloud. While this was lower than I would generally fly, it still gave plenty of terrain clearance so there was nothing to worry about on that front.

While setting up for cruise I noticed that the EGT gauge wasn’t indicating, so left the mixture near full rich rather than worrying too much about it. At the low level I was flying there wasn’t really any need to lean the engine correctly. However, it was a further item that I would need to mention to Kev (the aircraft’s owner) after the flight.

SkyDemon was warning me about the Restricted Areas around the power stations near the Severn, so I made sure to pass clear of them as I approached the area. I was listening in to Bristol but not talking to them, and heard a number of other aircraft in the surrounding area, so decided not to turn over the bridges themselves (which are an obvious navigation feature and hence are used by a lot of pilots) and headed back towards Kemble.

I made the decision to head over towards Lyneham for a look, so had SkyDemon do a ‘Direct To’ and followed the GPS. Mindful of the two airfields at Hullavington and Colerne, I made sure to steer a course to keep myself clear of them rather than going direct (which would have put me virtually in the overhead at Hullavington) and was soon passing just to the North of Lyneham. It’s a real shame to see such a facility so deserted, but hopefully we’ll be back there sometime in the future.

Passing a deserted Lyneham

Luned and Catrin were at a birthday party in Wootton Bassett, so I did consider overflying the town to see if they would spot me. However looking to the North there appeared to be some cloud around Kemble, so I decided against it. I used SkyDemon again to plot a direct course, as well as doing a bit of practice NDB tracking using the beacon at Kemble (despite it being NOTAMed as inoperative, it appeared to be working just fine).

Kemble was clearly visible in the distance, and I made contact with them, being told that they were still using runway 08 and had a number of aircraft in and around the circuit. I initially told them I’d join overhead, but as I got closer it was clear that I would be unlikely to be able to climb up to 2000 feet for an Overhead Join due to the cloud, so instead decided to join downwind.

Approaching from the South, I turned carried out the pre-landing checks before joining the circuit, before turning right to join the Downwind leg. Made a good job of the Downwind leg, nicely following the noise abatement rules before turning left onto Base leg. Began the descent, and turned Final (keeping clear of Kemble village) and reported that I was Final for 08 with the gear down. As I looked at the runway it became clear that the numbers I was looking at in fact said ’26′, and the FISO realised this at the same time, informing me I was lined up for the wrong runway. Whoops indeed. I don’t think I’ve ever done this before, and it shows how a break in flying can affect your thought processes.

I apologised and announced I would clear and reposition, he asked me to report when I was established Downwind again. Beginning a climb to get back up to 1000 feet, I repositioned for a correct Downwind and carried on around the rest of the circuit. Base and Final went well, and at least I hadn’t allowed myself to get flustered by the mistake, as I pulled off possibly my best landing in the Arrow so far, touching down gently on the mains with plenty of control authority to be able to keep the nose wheel off the ground before again gently lowering it.

I could have made the first turn if I’d braked, but I elected to allow the aircraft to slow itself before the FISO told me to take the next turn, and asked if I wanted fuel. Answering ‘Affirm’, I also apologised again for the mixup in my approach. The FISO was very understanding, telling me ‘Don’t worry, we all have a day like that every now and again!’

The flight's track

Flight profile

Refuelled the aircraft, the difference between the two tanks being just a couple of litres, and taxyed the long distance back to our new parking area. If I ever want to fuel the aircraft before flying in future, I think I’ll ask Kemble to send out the bowser, as otherwise this long taxy to and from fuel could easily cost me £20 or so before I even fly!

Once back at the parking area I shut down the engine and started to get ready to leave. Noticed that the Beacon CB had popped again, so reset it and gave it a quick check to show that it was still working. Perhaps there’s some moisture in the circuit that is occasionally causing it to trip?

I replaced the cover (alone for the first time) after getting all my gear out of the aircraft. Realised I still had the fuel tester in my pocket so had to undo the cover again to put it back, before I headed back to the office to fill in the tech log (including the two defects I’d noticed on the flight) before locking up and heading home.

It was good to finally reset my currency after a number of aborted attempts. While this flight was pretty short it was still enjoyable and nice to be back in the air again. I’d had a pretty major issue with my circuit rejoin, which I must take care not to repeat. I think I just reverted to ‘normal’ operation despite being told (and indeed repeating in all my radio calls) that Kemble were on the ‘unusual’ runway 08 today. Something to be aware of for future flights.

Total flight time today: 0:50
Total flight time to date: 171:50

I saw David was planning to fly that day too, so after a bit of negotiation I stole one of his passengers (Sean), and we agreed to head off to the same destination together. My first flyout! Sadly David couldn’t fly as early as I usually did, so this was just to be a quick visit rather than the usual trip out to lunch. After a bit of deliberation, we decided to head out to Haverfordwest, a new airfield for both of us, and conveniently one for which we held a free landing voucher!

While most of the UK was bathed in sunshine, there was a front over the Irish Sea that was heading in towards Wales then back out for much of the week leading up to the flight. A call to Haverfordwest in the morning initially gave some doubt as to the destination, when the guy on the phone announced they were ‘overcast’. However, he soon added ‘at about 4000 feet’! That’s probably plenty high enough!

With the decision to go made, I headed over to Kemble relatively early, and took my time getting the aircraft ready to go. I was sitting in the sunshine eating my lunch as Sean landed from his lesson and taxyed back. David soon arrived and we discussed the flight as he ate his lunch in the temporary Club office.

The plan was for us both to leave at around the same time, with David taking off first. The Arrow cruises slightly quicker than a Warrior, so it made sense to give him a bit of a head start! Sadly David was delayed somewhat by having to put oil in the aircraft, so in the end I left slightly before him. We were just leaving the apron after completing power checks as he arrived to do his.

The departure on 08 was normal, I turned before reaching Kemble Village to avoid annoying the neighbours, and maintained circuit height on a downwind leg until clear of the circuit, before climbing up to our cruising altitude. I’d planned on doing some practice hood work on the outbound leg, so climbed up to 4500 feet before identifying and setting course for the BCN VOR (pretty much a direct track to Haverfordwest).

However, the view was so good that this never even crossed my mind. I took the opportunity to experiment with the auto pilot a little (having thoroughly read the manual the preceding week) and it did a passable job at maintaining our track to the VOR as we talked to Bristol and then Cardiff on the way over. It had a bit of a wobble at one point, so I flew most of the leg from the VOR by hand. However, it’s useful to know that I have it available in this aircraft should I ever need a bit of help. Had a bit of trouble getting the DME to work correctly, so might need to raise this with the owner or Roger to make sure I’m not doing anything wrong.

As we approached Haverfordwest I tried to use the chart and some ‘real’ nav to find the field (rather than lean on the GPS too much) and we were soon approaching the field. Their Flying Club were manning the radio today, but we got a good service from them as we approached. I set us up for an Overhead Join for runway 21, doing my best to avoid the local villages as I flew Downwind.

Overhead Haverfordwest

All pre-landing checks were completed normally, and we were soon established nicely on Final. As we got down to 200 feet or so, it was clear that there were a large number of birds on the runway. I initially considered a low flypast followed by a Go Around (in the hope of clearing them off) but I decided instead to land long, which had the benefit of scaring them off as I approached. I brought us down for a slightly firm landing, then taxyed to park. The parking area was quite full, so I elected to park on the disused runway instead.

We walked in to sort the free landing (not in the Tower, but in the Flying Club office!) and then headed in to the Cafe for a cup of tea and a bun (replacing the first one as it was slightly furry!). David arrived some 10 or 15 minutes behind us, and we chatted in the sun as we finished our drinks. I was keen not to be too late back, so Sean and I left David and his passenger to their drinks and headed back.

David's mount for the day

Our departure was normal, and we heard an inbound aircraft on frequency as we were climbing out. We soon got a good view of a very swish looking aircraft, moving at a rate of knots as it passed by us. Sean identified it (my aircraft identification skills are virtually non-existant!).

Traffic, 10 O'Clock

We retraced the route on the way back, with Sean doing a lot of the flying. We were again tracking the VOR which made the navigation easier! It was obvious how much more flying Sean had done since our last flight together, as his flying was much smoother and he was much more relaxed at the controls.

We talked to Cardiff again on the way back, but Bristol didn’t want to work us so as we crossed the Bristol Channel we switched straight to Kemble to monitor them as we approached. They were relatively quiet, so I joined Overhead as usual and set up for landing.

Approaching Kemble

We were followed down the Downwind leg by one of Ultimate High’s Bulldogs, and I tried not to get too distracted by it as I continued down Final. I tried to land a little long so as not to delay him, but as I touched down he announced he was going around. We taxyed to the pumps to refuel, before heading back to parking. As it was relatively late we headed in to the Club’s office to sort out the paperwork (before they locked up) before returning to the aircraft to put the cover back on.

Home sweet home

Despite having to change plans and not getting my usual lunch out, this was an enjoyable flight. For the first time I’d flown to a destination as a group, and Haverfordwest was a new addition to my log book (although I’ll have to try to get back there sometime to sample the food in the cafe!). Perhaps in the future I’ll have to try to get more involved in more organised flyouts.

Outbound and return tracks

Outbound profile

Return profile

This flight also saw me pass the ‘magic’ 100 hours P1 mark. This has the (slight) benefit of me no longer needing authorisation from an Instructor for my flights. A more useful benefit is that my Club currency limits mean I now only have to fly every 60 days (rather than 43) before requiring a checkout with an Instructor. This could come in useful over the Winter if I’m prevented from flying due to weather or other commitments.

Total flight time today: 2:35
Total flight time to date: 171:00

Leading up to the flight a number of destinations were considered, my personal favourite being Haverfordwest (with the added benefit of a new entry into the logbook). However as the day approached the weather was forecasting a front coming in from the West, with the West of Wales getting the poorer weather a lot earlier than the rest of the UK.

We finally settled on a return to Dunkeswell, and flying over Neil’s house near Gloucester meant we could add a little spice to the mix by including a transit of Bristol’s Zone on the way from Gloucester down to Dunkeswell. We also had the option of ‘ducking under’ their airspace should a clearance to transit not be given.

The day dawned with localised mist and fog reported in the TAFs, and Brize showing ‘FEW 05, BKN 45′ (few clouds at 500 feet, broken cloud at 4500 feet). This should have been flyable, but when we arrived at Kemble the picture looked a little different.

The visibility wasn’t great, and the cloud base looked a lot lower than the 4500 feet being reported at Brize. Neil got stuck in traffic on his way over, so I took the time to talk to the Club’s CFI Graham as he was preparing to head off for a skills test with another Club member. His reading of the weather was the same as mine, so once Neil arrived we got ready to go and headed out to the aircraft.

All checks were normal, so we got onboard and got settled. This was Neil’s first flight in a light aircraft so I was doing my best to brief him in small chunks, only providing him with the information I really thought he needed to know. We soon had the engine running and were taxying to the hold (Alpha 1 was open today so this was my first taxy right up to the far end of the airfield).

Other aircraft were arriving and departing, so I thought that my decision regarding the weather was correct. Power checks were soon completed and we were lining up on runway 26 ready to depart. The aircraft performed normally on the take off run, and there was little wind so the rotation and takeoff were all relatively straightforward. Once there was no usable runway remaining I retracted the gear, and turned right to head to Gloucester. This caused some prompting from the FISO as my destination of Dunkeswell would normally have required a left turn, but I informed him we were heading via Gloucester and Bristol.

At around 500 feet or so things started to rapidly deteriorate. I began flying through slight wisps of cloud, so began to level off expecting this to be the ‘Few’ clouds that were reported. However, I was soon in solid IMC and was quickly on Instruments to maintain control while descending back below the cloudbase. It was clear that these ‘Few’ clouds were actually a relatively thick layer, as continuing at 500 feet for a short while showed no evidence of a break in the cloud above me. Reluctantly, I made the decision to abandon the flight, and informed Kemble that we were returning.

There was other traffic departing, a Bulldog from Ultimate High up to check the weather, but he wasn’t a factor as I repositioned for a relatively low level approach back into Kemble. Joined Left Base, and brought us in for a nice approach culminating in a nice smooth landing back at Kemble. As we landed the Bulldog was reporting a layer of cloud around 500 feet or so, but clear conditions above this from 2000 feet or so.

Despite the obvious disappointment of a very short flight, Neil appeared to have enjoyed the experience! We taxyed back, made a bit of a hash of parking the aircraft and returned to the Club office to double check weather, before deciding to head for a cuppa in AV8 to see if the weather cleared as it was supposed to. I took advantage of the relaxed surroundings to get the GPS working again too, which would be a definite benefit should the weather turn out to be poor later.

Abandoned flight track

Abandoned flight profile

Not long after, Graham returned with the newly qualified PPL, and he had good news about the weather. The low cloud was very localised over Kemble, so if I used my IMC rating to climb through it (the Bulldog had reported the layer to be only 1000 feet or so thick) I should be able to depart safely. I also had the option (if necessary) of an Approach into Gloucester (perhaps with a low level return) should the weather not be more agreeable once we left Kemble.

So we were soon headed back to the aircraft, with blue patches invitingly poking through the cloud, and it being distinctly brighter too. Once again all checks for normal, and with a distinct feeling of deja vu we were soon at the hold ready to depart. Another aircraft was flying circuits using the Grass runway, and I reported ‘Ready for Departure’ as he passed over us for another touch and go. The FISO asked us to ‘report lining up’, so I did so and lined up on the hard runway after checking  the position of another microlight on the downwind leg.

Once I saw the aircraft take off from the Grass and turn crosswind,I reported ‘rolling’ and began my departure roll. With one eye on the other aircraft I rotated as normal, and we were soon climbing away and retracting the gear. I again turned right to head North to clear Aston Down before turning back towards Gloucester to find Neil’s house.

We entered cloud around 800 feet or so, but I stuck with it and remained on Instruments to see how thick the layer was. I soon broke out into broken cloud around 1500 feet or so.

Around this point, the FISO contacted me saying I had only been asked to report lining up, and not given any ‘take off your discretion’ clearance. I apologised and continued, but I think that in actual fact once I crossed the hold line I think I was then ‘in control’. I need to do some checking to confirm this.

Now above the cloud, I used Gloucester’s NDB to head towards their field at around 3000 feet or so above a layer of cloud. This soon became unnecessary, as the cloud quickly broke up below me and we emerged into almost clear blue skies! Ah, the joys of an IMC Rating!

Now back VFR, I altered course a few times to head for the gaps in the clouds and get back down to around 2000 feet or so, and we began the task of finding Neil’s house. We soon spotted the M5 and he started to get his bearings, and we were able to perform a good orbit over his house enabling him to get some decent photos of it from the air.

I can see my house from here!

Once Neil was happy, we set course for Cinderford in order to clear the Severn Bird Sanctuary, before turning South to head towards Dunkeswell. We had been talking to Gloucester (after some difficulty getting a word in on the Kemble frequency to change!) just so that they were aware of where we were and what we were doing. They now suggested we contact Bristol so we switched over to Bristol Radar to ask for a Basic Service and a Zone Transit.

As we headed South, Neil did a sterling job spotting a number of other aircraft passing near us (a couple appeared to be flying in loose formation as they were quite close together). The Zone Transit didn’t arrive by the time we approached the Severn Bridges (the point at where I’d have to consider descending to pass below their airspace), so I asked them if I needed to descend. The Controller informed me he was still coordinating the Transit with their Tower, but that I should expect a Clearance in good time. Not long after we were cleared to Transit along the English Coast, not above 2000 feet.

Approaching the Second Severn Crossing

We followed the Coast, spotting a Bristol departure climbing away to our left. We got good views of Avonmouth and Weston Super Mare as we passed them by, and were soon emerging from the Bristol Zone. In reality, we were flying at about 1800 feet in a Zone that only started at 1500 feet so it would probably have been easier just to drop down below it. However, it’s always good practice to negotiate transits such as this, so it was a useful exercise. Once clear, I informed the Controller we were setting course for Taunton, and climbing back up to 2500 feet. We were notified of  ’pop up’ traffic close to us indicating 600 feet (unverified) as we neared the edge of the Zone, but we never managed to spot the other traffic.

The Pier at Weston Super Mare

Taunton soon appeared, and I set course for the final leg down to Dunkeswell, challenging Neil to try to spot the airfield. Signed off with Bristol and switched to Dunkeswell, and was given the usual brief (but perfectly correct) response to my call, giving me the runway in use and their QFE (together with a warning about parachuting and hence avoiding the overhead). As I approached I descended down to 1000 feet AAL and slowed down in readiness for the Approach.

We soon passed by the Hang Gliding field at Upottery, and spotted Dunkeswell. Everything was quiet, so as they were using runway 22 I positioned for a straight in approach, and carried out the pre landing checks. Reported Long Final and then Final, bringing us down for a nice approach. The last few seconds weren’t great however, as I rounded out slightly high, leading to a rather firm touchdown!

Final at Dunkeswell

As things were quiet we backtracked the length of the runway and parked up before heading in to pay the landing fee and get some lunch. Surprisingly there were notices around announcing that they would cease trading at some date in the near future. It was unclear to me whether this referred to the Flying School, the Cafe or the Airfield as a whole (or indeed some combination of the three). I have since found that it’s the Restaurant that is closing at the end of this month, with a new Coffee Shop / Restaurant opening soon after. That’s oogd news, as it’d be a real shame to lose Dunkeswell as a fly out lunch destination.

I opted for a sausage and bacon sandwich, while Neil was unable to resist the temptation of the Full Breakfast. We sat outside as we ate, watching skydivers returning to Earth, and being treated to an impromptu aerobatics display by a biplane (Pitts?) in the aerodrome’s overhead. The weather was nigh on perfect, it was difficult to believe that just a few short hours ago I’d been abandoning a flight after a departure encountering hard IMC at barely 600 feet AAL!

Impromptu aerobatics display

Stomachs satisfied, we headed back to the aircraft and prepared to depart. Had a brief scare when I was joined in the cockpit by a wasp, but managed to shepherd it out and prevent any others joining us before we departed! Sadly this meant we had to close the door earlier than I would have preferred in order to prevent any unwanted passengers embarking on the flight!

Dunkeswell were now operating on runway 17, so I had a quick look at the airfield chart to ensure I knew where I was going, before taxying to the hold. The taxyway immediately before runway 17 was very narrow, but luckily there was little wind so I didn’t really need to turn the aircraft into wind for the power checks. A microlight departed before us, and we waited for another aircraft to land before lining up. Once the arriving aircraft had departed we began our takeoff run.

It was obvious we would soon overtake the microlight, so I turned to his right to pass well clear of him, before turning left again to set course for Taunton and the flight home (note to self, must check the rules of the air to see if I should have passed him on his left). As we approached Taunton, I ‘briefed’ Neil on the basics of flying, having him get a feel for the position of the horizon above the instrument panel, and advising him to aim for a distant landmark when attempting course.

Once over Taunton, I set course for Frome, noted the time and prepared to hand over to Neil. Neil made a fairly good job of maintaining height and course, but also made the mistake all new pilots do (including me!) of attempting to ‘over control’ the aircraft. I demonstrated to him that the aircraft would pretty much fly itself hands off, and demonstrated that all was necessary was a finger and thumb grip to maintain height and course. He took back control, but didn’t seem too comfortable at the controls, so I took control back from him rather than have him become unnecessary concerned.

We were listening to Bristol but the frequency was relatively quiet so I didn’t bother troubling them for a Basic Service. We passed by Glastonbury on track, and Frome soon appeared bang on time. We set course for Lyneham (their NDB still working surprisingly!) and I incorrectly identified it a number of times, before virtually passing by it without noticing! It was slightly sad passing overhead and seeing the airfield completely empty. Hopefully we can return there at some point in the future.

Kemble was clearly visible now, and it was obvious that the micro weather system that had been hovering over it as we departed had long since gone. Neil seemed surprised at how quickly we’d passed through a couple of Counties on our return journey (the flying time was about 35 minutes – well, we were travelling at around 140 MPH with a bit of a tailwind!), and we were soon approaching the Kemble overhead.

Two of Ultimate High’s aircraft were lining up for a formation takeoff as we joined overhead, and we got a good view of them departing as I turned Crosswind. Looking at the track, my Downwind leg was a little wonky, but the rest of the circuit went well, and we were nicely lined up on Final with the ‘Reds, Blues, Greens, Flaps’ check completed (2 or three times if I’m honest!). We encountered the usual turbulence at around 100 feet above the runway, but we soon passed through it and I brought us in for a much better landing than the one we made at Dunkeswell.

Neil helped me refuel the aircraft, and as we taxyed back past the Tower and AV8 we were welcomed by synchronised waving from Luned and Catrin up against the fence in front of AV8. Made a much better job of parking the aircraft than I had on the aborted flight this morning, and put the cover back on with Neil’s help.

Flight tracks

Outbound profile

Return profile

By this time Neil’s family had also arrived, and the ladies and children retired to AV8 whilst Neil and I headed to the office to finalise the paperwork and settle the flying bill for the day. Not long after we were relaxing in AV8 with a cup of tea and some cake, watching the children happily playing around us.

Another happy customer!

A very mixed day. Slightly disappointed that I launched off into poor conditions in the morning, but at least I made the correct decision to return immediately rather than attempting to continue in unknown weather conditions. Things were different on the second flight as we had other pilot’s reports of the weather, and it was a real joy to emerge ‘on top’ of the cloud layer into glorious flying conditions. The remainder of the day saw near perfect weather (once we’d cleared the localised cloud near Kemble) and it was good that Neil had enjoyed the flight too.

The flight in the Arrow had all gone without any real hitch, so it was nice to know I could handle the more complex aircraft on my own. I think I’ll aim to make one flight a month in the Arrow in order to prevent myself forgetting anything important. The extra performance will certainly be useful should I undertake any longer trips (such as the trip to Caernarfon I’ve been promising Luned for years!). Also, I’m now just 50 minutes short of the ‘magic’ 100 hours P1 mark (which will increase my ‘currency’ requirements to one flight every 60 days, and allow me to be ‘self authorising’). Next flight should crack it!

Total flight time today: 2:30
Total flight time to date: 168:25

On the drive home I saw another light aircraft operating near Membury, and was optimistic as a result of this. However I arrived at Kemble in the midst of a particularly miserable shower of drizzle, with poor visibility and low cloud over the airfield. Roger arrived soon after me and seemed resigned to us having to give it a miss today.

However he announced he was happy to wait if I was so we headed out to the aircraft tosee what the weather looked like. As we got there Dave arrived back in G-ELUE so I headed over for a chat. He said that conditions actually weren’t as bad as they appeared from the ground, with generally a 1800 foot cloudbase and lots of clear areas, despite the odd shower. This coupled with a visibly clearer sky out to the West gave us a bit of hope so we decided to hang around and give it a go.

As the skies began to clear we uncovered the aircraft and I carried out the A check. Had a bit of a struggle checking the oil, the previous pilot having overtightened the dipstick such that I couldn’t even open it. With a bit of experienced jiggling from Roger he managed to get it open, and everything looked set to go. We had to dip the tanks to double check, but with about 25 gallons we easily had a good 2 hours or so, and weren’t expecting to need anywhere near this.

The Tower had closed by this time, so I made Traffic calls as we started up and taxyed out, following another Archer. Power checks were all completed normally on the D Site Apron and we headed out to the runway. Full power showed good RPM and the governor operating correctly, so I continued the takeoff run, rotating at 85 mph and getting airborne.

Made a slight boob by failing to correctly dab the brakes when raising the gear (in order to reduce the gyroscopic effects of the rotating wheels adding extra loads to the undercarriage as it raises) and Roger picked up on this quickly. Climbed away at 100 mph and headed to the North for clearer skies. Initially skirted through some low cloud (Roger explaining how to keep low enough to be able to see the horizon, which should prevent clipping the lower edges of the clouds) before being able to climb up to 3000 feet in clear blue sky. At this point Roger took control so that I could reach into the back for my sunglasses!

Once established in cruise configuration, Roger had me reconfigure for best endurance, which basically reduces the speed down to just above the stall speed in order to achieve the longest possible time in the air should this ever become necessary on a real flight. Once he was happy I recovered back to normal cruise, and Roger pointed out the traffic queuing on the A417 heading North up to the roundabout near Birdlip. Roger then had me descend to below the cloudbase, before heading back to the airfield.

I made a point once we were level again to check the indicated airspeed in cruise configuration. For some reason in my first flight I’d convinced myself that the aircraft was only cruising at around 120 MPH, when the book suggested more like 150 MPH was more likely. My double checking on this flight showed the book to be correct and my memory to be at fault, with us achieving somewhere around 145 MPH with the MAP and RPM set slightly below ‘optimum’ cruise settings.

Roger suggested I use the NDB on the field to do this, then quickly spotted a problem with my ADF tracking technique. I turned until the needle pointed to the nose of the aircraft, which caused me to overshoot somewhat as the needle continued to turn once I’d recovered to straight flight. Roger explained I should note the difference between the ADF heading and the aircraft’s actual heading, then make an appropriate correction before allowing the needle to settle.

We were arriving at Kemble from the North, making a Right Base join for 26 the preferred option. Announced this to Kemble Traffic, then set about slowing us down to circuit speed. Allowed the aircraft to descend a little while doing this, but soon got back up to more normal circuit height. Completed the pre-landing checks as we approached the base leg, correctly lowering the undercarriage and setting the prop to full fine and the mixture to full rich.

The join and descent went relatively well, but the flare and roundout produced one of my (recently fairly normal) rather hard landings. Roger again identified the problem in my technique: I was reducing power to idle as we crossed the threshold, then rounding out which caused the aircraft to run out of energy and meet the ground with a bit of a bump. Roger explained it was better to round out and fly level with power still applied, then remove the power to allow the aircraft to settle on the runway.

The second circuit and landing were better, I remembered to dab the brakes as we took off, and the landing was  smoother but still a little firm, with the nose wheel lowering with more of a bump than I’d like. We were now flying circuits at around 800 feet as the cloud started to lower again.

On the third circuit Roger had me carry out a flapless approach, which went well and culminated in a low level Go Around. For the fourth circuit, Roger suggested I try a grass landing. Again the circuit went well, and I was nicely set up for the approach to the grass runway before Roger decided I should again Go Around at low level due to birds on the runway. He had my fly along the runway at 100 feet or so in order to try to clear them.

We now carried out a low level ‘bad weather’ circuit, staying close in to the airfield and remaining at about 500 feet AGL. There were still a few birds on the grass as we approached, but this time we completed the landing, ending the sortie with a nice smooth touchdown followed by a gently lowering of the nosewheel. Almost perfect!

I carried out the after landing checks (spotting a slight oversight – throttle friction isn’t removed until the close down checklist) while Roger taxyed us back to parking. There was a slight ‘whoops’ moment for him as we slowed to enter our parking space, when Roger forgot that there were no toe brakes on his side! As a result we overshot our space by a foot or so, meaning we had to get some exercise when putting the aircraft to bed to push it back slightly so that it was in the correct space for the tie downs.

Roger and I chatted as we covered the aircraft and we then headed back to his car for him to update my log book, adding the sign off required for Variable Pitch Prop and Retractable Gear. I was now cleared for solo hire in the Arrow!

Just before leaving we were going over some of the events of the flight, and Roger asked how many grass landings I had. While I can’t remember exactly, it can’t me much more than 5 or 6, so Roger suggested that perhaps a session of circuits on Kemble’s grass runway might be a good idea to get me more used to ‘strip’ landings. I also told Roger of my desire to do some landings from the right seat, in case I’m ever flying with somebody else and they might need any assistance with landing in (perhaps) a tricky crosswind or the like.

This was a pretty enjoyable flight. It was the first time in a while I’d ‘used’ my IMC rating to fly above the clouds (possibly the most normal use of the rating) and it was good to see that sometimes conditions that appear very difficult on the ground can actually be a little misleading. While I doubt I’ll be launching off into the murk with abandon as a result, I might be more inclined to at least take off ‘for a look’ in future.

Hopefully my first Solo flight in the Arrow will come this weekend!

Total flight time today: 0:50
Total flight time to date: 165:55

The weather in the morning was far from ideal, but the forecast showed that the low cloud and drizzle should clear. The only issue was a forecast for relatively high winds, so we arranged to meet at Kemble and see how things looked.

I’d had a full brief on the changes on one of my earlier aborted attempts to fly, so had a quick ‘refresher’ with Roger along with a brief on what we would need to cover on the conversion flights. The hope was that we could cover it all in a couple of flights and get my signed off to fly the aircraft ‘solo’ after that.

Once in the aircraft, there was some initial fumbling over an unfamiliar checklist (not least the start procedure which calls for mixture at idle when cranking the engine, before advancing to full rich when it fires). Roger had warned me that the rudders were a little stiff on the ground, so I left the taxy checks until we reached the ‘D Site’ apron where power checks are carried out (the taxyway between Alpha 2 and Alpha 1 was closed again – although the FISO didn’t seem to realise this!).

While doing all this, the reason for my carrying out the power checks in the wrong place on the last flight became clear. I’d left the Golf taxyway to the left of where I should have, so when I turned right it meant I was indeed blocking the ‘correct’ exit from the taxyway.

Once all checks were complete and we lined up, I held the aircraft on the brakes as I applied full power do demonstrate the RPM governor working correctly. However, the aircraft was raring to go, and began to creep forwards, so Roger told me to just let the brakes off, and we accelerated down the runway. Was careful to remember that the ASI reads in MPH in this aircraft (as opposed to knots as I’m used to) and rotated at around 85 MPH. The crosswind was obvious as we began to climb, requiring a significant crab angle to maintain the runway centreline.

Once airborne and with no usable runway ahead I dabbed the toe brakes before raising the gear. It is soon obvious that the gear mechanism is working correctly, as you can feel the nose wheel retraction through the pedals. Once at a safe height, the RPM was brought back to 2600, and the mixture set to get a fuel flow indication of 13 PSI.

We headed out to the West from Kemble, switching to Bristol once we were clear. There was some fluffing of the initial call to Bristol, as the Controller surprised me a little. Usually, after a ‘Bristol Radar, G-AZWS request Basic Service’ initial call, the response would be ‘Pass your message’. However, on this occasion the Controller replied ‘Basic Service you have, pass your message’. I then passed all my details again, before (un-necessarily) again asking for a Basic Service.

We carried out some basic handling once the aircraft was configured for cruise (level off, allow it to accelerate up to about 120 MPH, reduce power to 24″ MAP, RPM to 2400, set mixture to get maximum exhaust gas temperature) followed by some climbing and descending. When climbing, the first thing to do is increase mixture, set 2600 RPM and then apply power to climb. The reverse is true when levelling off or descending – reduce power, set 2400 RPM then lean for the correct mixture.

We carried out some stall drills, with gear both retracted and extended. The only real thing to remember when recovering is to ensure that all three levers are pushed fully forward (assuming the stall occurred in a cruise configuration with mixture and RPM both pulled back). The stalls were relatively docile (it’s still a PA-28 after all) and the recovery wasn’t really an issue.

After this, we carried out some simulated circuits. Initially starting at 5500 feet, carry out downwind checks (including slowing, lowering the gear, setting RPM) then descend on ‘base’ and final. As we approached 4500 feet Roger called for a ‘Go Around’ which involved basically pushing all three levers forward, establishing the aircraft in the climb before raising the gear and finally the flaps.

I’d obviously been expecting a simulated gear failure at some point in the flight, but Roger fooled me slightly by pulling the Circuit Breaker for the gear pump during the circuit, meaning that it didn’t retract correctly on the Go Around. I failed to notice this, and once we were correctly climbing he asked me to level off and then ‘check you gear indication again’. All three greens were still lit, and this is a clear indication of me seeing what I expected to see, rather than seeing the actual indication on the gear lights.

Roger asked me what I’d do should this ever happen (the gear fail to retract on takeoff). I decided initially that I’d probably attempt to land immediately, but Roger said that if recycling the gear got it to retract correctly he’d probably continue. The aircraft could easily be flown with the gear down with probably a decrease in speed and an increase in fuel consumption, so if this occurred when away from base it would still give the option of returning to base in this condition.

We then demonstrated the difference in glide performance with the prop in full fine and full coarse pitch. I’d incorrectly assumed that we’d get better glide performance with the pitch in its full fine setting, but this was a useful demonstration that in actual fact pulling it back to full coarse will give a slightly better glide performance.

The last thing to do was to go through the ‘Emergency’ section of the checklist should the gear fail to extend. Roger has gone through a number of iterations of the checklist since his initial flight, and this section is now very comprehensive. The first thing to be aware of (as in all aircraft emergencies) is to make maintaining control of the aircraft the first priority. If the gear fails on the downwind leg, first of all get out of the circuit and get some height, even considering engaging the autopilot to remove some of the workload.

Once the aircraft is in a ‘safe’ configuration, working through the checklist is a relatively simple matter. The aircraft has an ‘emergency’ gear extension mechanism that basically releases hydraulic pressure in the system, allowing the gear to drop under gravity and lock. Should the fail to lock then yawing the aircraft using the rudder (should the mains not lock) or pitching the aircraft up and down (for the nose gear) should cause everything to lock down.

If an indication problem is suspected, then a flyby of the tower (possibly parallel and then head on) should be considered to allow them to inspect the gear to see if it fails to lock down. Additionally, the indicator bulbs can be swapped to see if a single bulb has failed. Finally, if the panel lights are on, the brightness of the gear indicators is significantly reduced (something we demonstrated on the ground) and that’s always worth checking!

Should the worst come to the worst then a gear up landing should be attempted on a hard runway if possible, landing with flaps up in a level attitude. If possible, the engine should be stopped and secured on Final, and the prop motored to get it horizontal to reduce damage. Also, you could consider asking for a runway to be foamed should this be possible.

We recovered back to Kemble for a PFL. Roger had me do this using the ‘military’ method, positioning for ‘High Key’ (2500 feet over the landing area) and ‘Low Key’ (1500 feet in a position suitable to enable the remainder of the circuit to land). It had been a while since I’d done a PFL (Roger said it was obvious!) and I was also relatively unfamiliar with these terms, so Roger talked me through the procedure a bit more than perhaps he should have had to.

In general it all went well, but there was now a significant crosswind which I failed to correctly correct for. As a result I was blown through the centreline and (as ever!) ended up a little high. When we got down to a few hundred feet Roger called for a go around, and we set up for another circuit.

For some reason I flew this a lot closer in to the airfield than I normally would. This meant that again I was blown through the centreline as my downwind leg wasn’t far enough away from the runway to carry out a 180 degree turn with the wind blowing me towards the runway at 30 knots or so! Roger again had me Go Around, and we began to discuss the options should the crosswind prove too great for us to land at Kemble.

My first choice was Gloucester, as I know it has 3 runways so one was likely to be almost into wind. Roger suggested Colerne also, but we’d already ascertained that they weren’t flying today. Roger finally suggested Oaksey, whose main runway is 24 rather than 26 at Kemble. This change in direction would probably give us a small enough crosswind component to be able to land successfully.

In the end we decided that Roger would attempt a landing at Kemble (he’s probably done one or two more landings than I have!), and if he was unable to then we could divert elsewhere. I flew the majority of the circuit (this time allowing a lot more room on the downwind leg) and we also stayed a little high to try to avoid the worst of the turbulence over the threshold. On Final Roger took control and took us down to a decent landing despite the tricky conditions. I guess all that practice really does pay off!

Due to the increased crosswind we decided against any further flights today. We refuelled and covered the aircraft before heading back in for a debrief. Roger said he was generally happy with the way I’d managed all the systems, and thought that a single further flight with me doing things without him prompting should be enough to allow him to sign me off for solo flight in the aircraft. All we need to do now is line up all those dots again!

The Flight's Track

Vertical Profile

Total flight time today: 1:10
Total flight time to date: 165:05

Sadly, when Roger test flew it the previous day the undercarriage failed to come down correctly, with him only receiving 2 green lights. Despite going through the emergency gear extension checklist, he still couldn’t get three greens. This culminated with him making a few low passes over Kemble (Tower reporting that the gear looked good) before making a landing with the Fire Tenders standing by.

Fortunately all was well, but further examination the following day with Seb showed that a component on the undercarriage had sheared off, preventing it from completely locking down on one side (and thus not lighting the third ‘green’ indicating the gear was safe).

So I went through all the ground school with Roger, but a stomach bug put paid to any flying that weekend, preventing me from getting checked out in the Club’s 2 seater Robin.

As a result, I’d been champing at the bit to go flying, so arranged a flight today to take Luned and Catrin somewhere. In the lead up to the weekend Saturday looked to be the better day, but towards the end of Friday it became clear that Saturday was to be a day of showers and potentially low cloud.

A call to Swansea showed that they had a solid overcast around 1500 feet or so, so that was off the agenda as a potential destination. Having a lack of time to properly plan, I opted for a return to Wellesbourne after checking with the forecaster at Lyneham as to where he thought the worst of the rain would be heading. He thought the worst band of rain would be heading more to the East than the North, so I decided to carry out the flight. Wellesbourne is a short flight from Kemble, so I was confident that we could be able to make it back even if the conditions deteriorated somewhat.

As a result I was a little late getting fully ready for the off, so Luned took Catrin for a bit of a tour of the local countryside in the car while I carried out the pre flight. Once they returned I loaded up Catrin’s car seat (and pushchair as an emergency backup in case we got stuck and had to get a train or something!), and we all loaded up. I would normally add fuel before heading off on a landaway, but as Wellesbourne is barely a 45 minute flight each way there didn’t seem to be any need.

This was to be my first departure from Kemble’s ‘usual’ runway 26. Normally power checks would be carried out at hold Alpha 1 before the threshold of 26, but the taxyway between Alpha 2 and Alpha 1 is currently closed. I was instructed to carry out power checks on the ‘Delta Site apron’, so headed up there via taxyway Golf.

Once there I turned right to (I thought) clear the taxyway and carried out power checks. These were all completed normally, but I received a call from the Tower informing me that I was in fact blocking Taxyway Golf where I was. They said that in future I should pull over more to the left rather than the right when carrying out power checks. Whoops.

All ready, we headed out to hold Alpha 4, before reporting Ready for Departure. There was no other traffic around, so we lined up and departed immediately.

I’d checked for any noise abatement procedures before reporting ready, and hence knew about the required 20 degree turn to the right to clear Culkerton Village. I made this turn, before turning Crosswind at 500 feet and then onto a Downwind leg while still climbing, before setting course to Wellesbourne.

On this leg I had no trouble climbing to 2000 and then 2500 feet while remaining clear of cloud, the cloudbase was actually a lot higher than it appeared. All was fairly quiet on the outbound leg with the exception of a single traffic warning from Brize about traffic crossing left to right some 4 miles ahead, slightly above us. After a bit of searching I managed to spot the other aircraft, and it never really became a factor.

Luned also corrected me (how dare she, I dunno, she has a few flying lessons and all of a sudden she’s an expert! ), because in my initial call to Brize I (apparently) said ‘PA 28, Lyneham to Wellesbourne’. I made another call to Brize informing them of the correction, and received a chuckled ‘Roger’ reply from the Controller.

Of course, as usual things got a little more complicated once I reached Wellesbourne! They had two aircraft operating in the circuit as I approached, and with Luned’s help (a second set of eyes that knows where to look for other aircraft is always very helpful) I soon spotted the other two aircraft. As I started my deadside descent, one reported on Final, and the other reported Downwind for a glide approach.

For some reason the aircraft on Final reported going around, as did the one on the glide approach just as he turned base. This meant that both aircraft were aiming for similar points in the sky at the same time, all while I was descending deadside and trying to slot in behind them. The aircraft from Final reported the other in site (we had both visual also) and informed the FISO that he would extend so as to fit in behind him. I informed the FISO in turn that I had both aircraft visual, and would follow the aircraft coming from Final in order to slot in too.

During all of this I had (again – pretty poor on reflection) become slightly distracted and missed out on switching from QNH to QFE. As a result, the circuit I was flying was about 150 feet lower than it should be. The aircraft on Final had obviously not quite been keeping up with his situational awareness as he reported ‘I have another aircraft outside me, appears to be joining crosswind at around 800 feet’. The FISO informed him that I had reported him in site, and I also reported this to confirm it. I followed a slightly unusual path around the circuit as a result of this to remain clear of the other aircraft and give myself some space behind him.

We all trundled around our circuit, and by the time I was on Final I had plenty of space ahead of me. The aircraft in front was also on a touch and go, so the spacing required was less than that you would normally need if the aircraft in front were carrying out a full stop landing. A further aircraft had joined in the meantime, and was now following me.

I don’t think I was particularly slow on Final, but as I touched down (relatively nicely given everything else that went on!) the aircraft behind me reported that he was going around. The FISO asked me to continue and take the first right, before parking next to a twin.

Unusual overhead join at Wellesbourne

We ordered our lunch before I headed up to the Tower to pay the landing fee. Had a bit of a chat with them as they’d been following my Mode S transponder readout on a screen in the Tower, and were surprised when I disappeared from their screen. The only thing I could think of was that the point I disappeared was around the point at which I stopped talking to Brize and hence switched back to a 7000 squawk. I wonder if the Mode S is turned off when you’re swawking 7000?

I also commented on the fact that (as usual) they appear to book in extra traffic around the circuit just as I arrived, because the skies were almost empty while I was talking to them!

After the usual nice lunch we headed back to the aircraft in readiness for the trip home. As we taxyed the FISO informed us that she was leaving her position for a couple of minutes, so we made traffic calls while I carried out power checks behind another aircraft. She had returned before we were ready to depart though, so things were normal on that front.

While taxying I noticed that the circuit breaker for the Nav lights was out (it had been in when checking them before start). I reset it once, but immediately popped out again, so I turned off the Nav lights and made a note to mention it to the aircraft owners on our return.

The aircraft in front departed, and we were ready in turn, so took to the runway after him and started to roll once he had reached a height of a few hundred feet. As we followed him on our climbout another aircraft reported inbound from the South, so I had one eye on him while looking for the inbound traffic. The departing traffic appeared to be manoeuvring a lot, and it was often difficult to work out exactly where he was heading. We spotted the inbound aircraft passing behind our right wing, so I was glad to be able to make the turn to the right to get us on track back to Kemble.

The weather on the return leg was much worse than the outbound one. The forecast showers had obviously headed in this direction, and we passed through a few light ones on our way. The cloudbase was varying between about 1700 and 2000 feet for most of the leg, and I was having to continually descend slightly to remain clear of cloud. We always had a good view of the ground though, so I was never worried about terrain clearance. In the back, Catrin slept through all of it!

In hindsight, I could perhaps have asked Brize for their cloudbase and whether they had any information as to the height of the cloud tops. I may have been able to climb through the layer of cloud to operate above it, making the flight a much more pleasant experience. However, as we approached Cirencester we emerged from beneath the cloud deck into some of the best flying weather I have ever seen. There was barely a cloud in the sky, and the difference between the two types of conditions was breathtaking!

Now in touch with Kemble, we heard a Spitfire on frequency about to make a pass over the field. Sadly, we were slightly too far away and didn’t manage to see him. The circuit was quiet as we approached, so rather than carrying out a fairly protracted Overhead Join for 26 with a left hand circuit, we asked the FISO if there was anything to affect us making a Right Base join for 26. This meant the join was relatively simple, and I made sure to keep inside Kemble Village to avoid any noise sensitive areas.

I started my descent slightly late, so the majority of the approach was at idle power, but we turned onto Final at a good height. Again, there was a fair amount of turbulence down low as we approached the landing, which took me off to the right of the centreline slightly, and the eventual touchdown was again quite firm, with the stall warner sounding for quite a long time. Must make a point of expecting this on future arrivals at Kemble, particularly if and when I get checked out in the Arrow!

Luckily Catrin had woken up just as we pulled up next to the pump (I had suggested to Luned that we fly around for a little while to allow her to catch up on her missed lunchtime nap, but we decided not to) so Luned and Catrin headed back to AV8 while I refuelled the aircraft and taxyed back to parking.

Given the now perfect conditions, I took my time over sorting the aircraft out, even taking time to check out whether G-ELUE was being used later, and putting the cover on that as well (which the previous pilot had obviously neglected to do). Sorted out payment for the flight, before heading home for what I considered was a well earned beer!

Despite the slightly challenging conditions on the return leg, I’m glad I made the decision to make the flight. It’s always good to try to extend yourself gradually as you continue your flying career, and getting used to new and more challenging weather conditions is part of that. In hindsight perhaps I should have considered climbing through the layer rather than ‘scud running’ at low level, but given the terrain en-route there was never any real issue with operating at relatively low level. My main regret is not having a camera with us to show the polar opposites of the flying conditions before and after Cirencester!

Track

Outbound leg

Return leg

Total flight time today: 1:35
Total flight time to date: 163:55