Runway 06R

Originally I had IGX booked for 3:00pm however when I called and confirmed my instructor that I typically go out with when I do duel training was sick. So I got given another instructor and since the sky was pretty light with traffic I moved it to 2:00pm.

The wind sock was howling the opposite way so instead of 06L for training area departures 24R was active, this allows us to take off into the wind. After a pre-flight brief I towed the aircraft out of the holding area and into the pre-start check area. Dipped the tanks and with 35 on the left and 20 on the right I figured I’d fill em both up to 40 liters each side for better balance.

Me: “Air BP Air BP India Golf X-ray”
Air BP: “Air BP India Golf X-ray”
Me: “India Golf X-ray Cessna 152 Air Australia request 25 liters of AVgas, 5 liters right tank 20 liters left tank”
Air BP: “India Golf X-Ray, Be with you shortly”
Me: “Air BP”

Shortly they arrived and fueled the tanks, after a thorough pre-flight we were taxiing out to 24R, after run up checks permission to line up was granted followed by permission to take off. A wobbly start due to crosswinds which I corrected, flying out of Jandakot airport was straightforward as the runway is facing the exit point. After tracking to 500 feet and performing after take off checks I turned the aircraft south.

Holding above the exit lakes at 1000 ft I switched over to Perth radar and began a normal climb for 1500 feet then 2500 feet and after entering the training area climbed to 3500 feet. The weather was interesting with low cloud (4000 Feet) and a definite amount of rain which I was keen to avoid, nobody likes to get wet.

With a new instructor you more or less have to adapt to his/her style of instruction as the result is the same but the method might differ from instructor to instructor, I don’t mind switching instructors as it gives me a chance to see different ways of doing things, frustrating but good experience.

The first attempt at practice forced landings involved a bit of input from my instructor, I don’t think my style was flawed by nature it was simply that my plan for getting us both on the ground might not have been the safest, and I suppose that is the end result of a forced landing.

The second attempt was good fun, I reckon I would have rode a few cows down in the process but I would rather get nice and cosy with a cow then say power lines or a row of trees.

The third attempt I had to cut a corner to reduce time in the air and change my plan halfway through but I got a commendation for a successful forced landing so that was good. After that I climbed to 1500 feet and turned 180 degrees to Forrestdale lake for joining circuits.

Joining circuits involves returning to the airport but requesting permission to join the touch and go circuits where you fly crosswind, downwind, base and final then as you touch down you go full flaps up and full throttle for an immediate take off run, then all over again, landing practice really – in rapid succession.

So we got permission and I more or less nailed 3 crosswind circuits, which is where I do my final at 65 kts and come in at an angle using rudder control and a bit of aileron, touch down is on the left wheel the right wheel then hold back on the stick as power is reduced. More or less doing a wheelie down the runway with front wheel in the wind, gradually as speed is decreased that wheel comes down nice and smooth.

The instructor was happy, which is always a good thing. Taxied to holding point and after permission was granted to cross an active runway we were back at the club performing shutdown checks and more or less putting the plane to bed for the night.

All in all the flight was good, I’ll do some more circuit solos then I’ll do an area solo then I think I will be ready for the GFPT which then allows me to fly with passengers in circuits and throughout the training area, good fun.

Note to self: Learn the bloody forced landing checklist inside and out!!!!!!

There are a number of ways to work out the pressure height of a field or landing strip, with any text book they visualize things I guess so you have some idea of why or what you hope to accomplish. Essentially the pressure height of a field is the starting point for a number of calculations relating to climbing, landing and take off, that is why it is given special consideration.

QNH stands for the atmospheric pressure at mean sea level and changes over time. The QNH is relayed to pilots via the ATIS or 120.9 VHF.

Then you have the ISA to worry about (International Standard Atmosphere), this is a set of standards that have been adopted world wide as an average set of conditions for the whole earth. The sea level pressure is set at 1013 hectopascals (hPa) and sea level temperature is 15 degrees centigrade.

Pressure drops at a rate of 1 hPa for every 30 feet of height gained, likewise temperature drops at a rate of 2 degrees centigrade for every 1000 feet gained in height. So according to ISA if you were flying 1500 feet above sea level you would have an air pressure reading of 963 hPa and a temperature reading of 12.5 degrees centigrade.

That being said the ISA lists averages which are never typically representative of actual conditions so a pilot must convert the actual conditions to its equivalent in ISA in order to run these against aircraft performance charts.

So if a field is 2100 feet above sea level and the QNH is 1002 then the pressure height of the field is 2430 feet. And we work that out by:

ISA sea level reading 1013 (hPa) – the QNH (1002) which equals 11, you then times that number by thirty feet (11 x 30) to get 330 feet. Add that to the field height and you get 2430 feet.

That figure can then be used to consult aircraft performance charts.

Air density, temperature and humidity levels all affect the performance of an aircraft and these must be taken account of when working out your landing and take off. When you are on the ground acquiring this information is pretty simple, switch the radio over to ATIS frequency and wait till they read out the QNH. Simply select the appropriate QNH on the altimeter and it automatically tells you the field pressure height.

However, this doesn’t work for when you are up in the sky and this information has to be calculated manually specifically when landing in adverse weather or at an unfamiliar airport.

Each particle of air contributes to the production of lift and drag, combustion of fuel to produce power and the generation of thrust. Air density suddenly becomes very important and is set by air pressure and temperature.

One way I look at it is that water is dense and as such makes it easy to swim in, it supports our weight. We can’t “swim” in air as it is much less dense then water. It might not be the correct way of explaining it but to me it does make a little more sense.

So above all air density effects the distance required for take off and landing as well as the climb factor. the higher the altitude the less dense the air is, likewise the hotter the day is the less dense the air is. So given that, one could rightfully assume that if you were taking off from a high altitude airstrip on a blazing hot day you would need to allow for greater take off distance.

I’ll jot down the methods of acquiring the correct pressure hight of a given field or landing strip in a future post.

I scheduled a flight in AOH (Cessna 152) for two hours from 10:00am – 12:00pm, this includes pre-flight checks and a brief. Though I solo circuits my next challenge is the area solo check flight, this is where I am assessed for solos outside of Jandakot Airport controlled airspace. Student Pilots are permitted to fly in the training area which is a huge space of sky south of Perth.

In this area a student pilot can practice all things flying, including turns, steep turns, rates of climb and descent among other things and acquiring training in this area on my own I believe is essential to building up experience.

Its been about 2 months since I have flown in the training area and so it can get a little daunting considering runways change direction and certain runways have certain specific uses and the last thing I want is an angry controller having a go at me.

After pre-flight checks and a call to Air BP for 10 liters of AVgas to the right wing, my flight instructor checked the fuel and oil levels and we were ready to go. As we were flying directly to the training area there was no need for a start check call to ground. After going through start up procedures we had the engine firing after a “clear prop” call.

After clearance was given I taxied briskly on to Runway 06L and after aligning myself on the center line applied full throttle. At 55 – 60 Kts we were airborne and I took off using rudder control to correct for crosswind. At 400 feet my instructor reached for the throttle and set the engine to idle (emergency landing after takeoff check), at that point I lowered the nose for the glide and set my aim point to 30 degrees left side of center line and selected a sandy mound to crash into. instructor was satisfied (more or less) and I applied full throttle and proceeded to 500 ft then on to 1000 ft for finishing up the curcuit.

Breaking out of the circuit and heading to the controlled zone exit point was a breeze, considering we fly only 500 ft below inbound aircraft, straying out of our permitted ceiling height can be disastrous. The role of my instructor was to observe my flying and as such he wasn’t coaching. I flew over the lakes and at the far end of the final lake started my cruise climb to 1500 and beyond as we had reached the limits of the controlled area. I then switched the radio over to Perth Radar (135.25).

In the training area we did several types of aircraft stalls, all of which after the plane dives I have about 300 ft max to recover and resume steady full powered climb back to original height. First time entering and climbing above clouds today which was fantastic, normally I have been steering clear of clouds for obvious reasons. I then did two forced landings in which the first on I selected a ridiculously small field (bad judgment) with the second one being a bit better, found the largest paddock around and with exception of a few scattered cows grazing about the place I reckon I could have avoided them .

We then climbed from 500 ft back up to 1500ft and proceeded to 6 south for entry back into Jandakot Airport Airspace. At 6 South the radio call is something like:

Alpha Oscar Hotel, Cessna 152
Six South at one thousand five hundred
received information Bravo, inbound.

To which the tower responds with: Alpha Oscar Hotel

We then proceed to Forrestdale lake and after another radio call we are given instruction for entering the controlled airspace and joining a circuit pattern in preparation for landing. This particular entry was unfamiliar to me so I got carried away with completing the circuit correctly and had to put a bit more effort into slowing the plane down on final. A slight balloon on landing but I didn’t feel the need for a go around, even though my instructor thought my landing was a little “messy”.

I thought the flight went well, during the 5 min debrief we went over entering the circuit pattern , my next theory test is the area solo exam, 20 questions or more of this that and the other, will see how we go.