Instrument flying, and that sneaky Gilbert
Had a busy weekend of more flying... doing some instrument flying on Saturday that went pretty well. Gilbert failed my attitude indicator and direction indicator, meaning I had to fly using the turn co-ordinator and compass only. I was a bit worried about this as I couldn't really remember the rules on compass undershoot and overshoot, but with the application of 'UNOS' (undershoot north, overshoot south) - I soon had it sussed. The practise I put in the other day on the sim was time well spent, I was holding altitude pretty well and doing nice precise rate one turns.
One of my other flights was a dual flight that we used to practise general handling - I went through steep turns, stalls and practise forced landings - and Gilbert commented that my solo sessions had obviously been put to good use. It made me feel pretty good, and I was actually surprised myself how well things went, but my last couple of solo flights had been midday, and were really bumpy and unpleasant.
Gilbert tried the 'pull the circuit breaker' trick on me on take off, but I noticed straight away that my T's and P's were dead, so no problem :-)
I was supposed to start night flying last night, but it was cancelled just beforehand, so I am due to fly tonight. Looking forward to that - I haven't seen Goodyear from the air at night yet. I did have a flight this morning at 7:30 - Navigation flight 3, over to Gila Compressor, Paloma, then back to Goodyear. This went reasonably well; I was off course a couple of times but corrected it OK I thought. I feel a bit more confident with the actual flying so I can concentrate on looking out for landmarks. I'm still not quite as creative as Gilbert, but then he does know the area a hell of a lot better than me. The main thing is I don't get us lost!
Family-wise everything is going well. Georgia and Clare are really happy - I still have a good portion of the day to spend with them, which is really nice. To anyone with a family or partner that is thinking on bringing them out to the states - do it. Ignore what ever OAT tell you about them getting in the way, it simply isn't true. Maybe in the later part of the training I'll be away for more of the day, but if you're used to working for 8 hours a day and being out of the home for 10 hours, this will all feel like a holiday.
Georgia has been really lovely lately - she is speaking more and more every day, but we do feel bad for her that she isn't getting to play with other children. I guess it's a small sacrifice, and hopefully it won't really make much of a difference - once we get back to Oxford she will hopefully go back to the play groups and friends there. I know I'd much rather have her spend time with me than with other kids, even if it is slightly selfish on my part. I do know I'd be absolutely gutted if I'd come out here on my own, and missed her growing up over these last few months.
The other day at Paradise Vally Mall I spotted a little summer dress in Macy's, and couldn't resist buying it for her. Here's a piccie of her posing in it:
That's enough rambling for now. Gonna try and have a lazy day by the pool today, then hopefully get that first night flight done later.
All the best
Simon
One of my other flights was a dual flight that we used to practise general handling - I went through steep turns, stalls and practise forced landings - and Gilbert commented that my solo sessions had obviously been put to good use. It made me feel pretty good, and I was actually surprised myself how well things went, but my last couple of solo flights had been midday, and were really bumpy and unpleasant.
Gilbert tried the 'pull the circuit breaker' trick on me on take off, but I noticed straight away that my T's and P's were dead, so no problem :-)
I was supposed to start night flying last night, but it was cancelled just beforehand, so I am due to fly tonight. Looking forward to that - I haven't seen Goodyear from the air at night yet. I did have a flight this morning at 7:30 - Navigation flight 3, over to Gila Compressor, Paloma, then back to Goodyear. This went reasonably well; I was off course a couple of times but corrected it OK I thought. I feel a bit more confident with the actual flying so I can concentrate on looking out for landmarks. I'm still not quite as creative as Gilbert, but then he does know the area a hell of a lot better than me. The main thing is I don't get us lost!
Family-wise everything is going well. Georgia and Clare are really happy - I still have a good portion of the day to spend with them, which is really nice. To anyone with a family or partner that is thinking on bringing them out to the states - do it. Ignore what ever OAT tell you about them getting in the way, it simply isn't true. Maybe in the later part of the training I'll be away for more of the day, but if you're used to working for 8 hours a day and being out of the home for 10 hours, this will all feel like a holiday.
Georgia has been really lovely lately - she is speaking more and more every day, but we do feel bad for her that she isn't getting to play with other children. I guess it's a small sacrifice, and hopefully it won't really make much of a difference - once we get back to Oxford she will hopefully go back to the play groups and friends there. I know I'd much rather have her spend time with me than with other kids, even if it is slightly selfish on my part. I do know I'd be absolutely gutted if I'd come out here on my own, and missed her growing up over these last few months.
The other day at Paradise Vally Mall I spotted a little summer dress in Macy's, and couldn't resist buying it for her. Here's a piccie of her posing in it:
That's enough rambling for now. Gonna try and have a lazy day by the pool today, then hopefully get that first night flight done later.
All the best
Simon
posted by Simon Davidson @ 11:19 AM
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