In this blog post, I shall summarise the first phase of my flight training which starts from the basic, general handling side of flying to getting my first solo flight completed. This foundation VFR flying phase consists of general handling, circuit flying and I was taught how to read my basic on-board instruments before moving onto Full Navigation and Cross Country Flying. In the next flying phase, I shall be doing my solo landaways, visiting new airports and I shall also complete my qualifying cross country. This is something I am greatly looking forward to.
The information contained in this blog post can apply to both PPL and CPL students currently undertaking flight training in the United Kingdom as the flying lessons are similarly structured.
The first flying phase was conducted in the Cessna FA152 Aerobat (G5). Equipped with some useful Garmin instruments, the flight deck environment is essentially LCD screens along with some traditional, steam gauges. Overall, it’s a fantastic single-engine piston aircraft to train in and one of my favourite light aero planes in the world.
As requested by many of you, I shall now discuss the first flying phase structure and the lessons in chronological order:
1. Lesson 1: General Handling
Got to the airfield and met my remarkably friendly instructor. After a nice chat, I was briefed on the flight and I learnt how to do a pre-flight inspection and a walk around (“check A”). I flew for the first time in a while (although it did feel slightly awkward with a mask on) and I was introduced to/experienced pitch, roll, yaw. Overall, a fantastic first lesson.
2. Lesson 2: Straight and Level Arriving at the airfield on a lovely Saturday afternoon, I was briefed on today’s lesson plan with my instructor. I commenced my walk around and pre-flight check all by myself. I was the introduced to flying straight and level as well as the trim; memorising the straight and level attitude. I was also taught how to read my basic on-board instruments. One of my best flights and a memorable one as the views were fantastic and the instructor was great!
3. Lesson 3: Revision of General Handling
As my previous lesson was cancelled due to Covid issues, a revision lesson was done to get back into the swing of things and so the skills I’ve learnt so far were consolidated.
4. Lesson 4: First Take-Off
Today was a great day as I commenced my first take-off. It was memorable and felt really rewarding after successfully commencing it. Today’s lesson was mainly a revision of Straight and Level and recovering from unusual attitudes.
5. Lesson 5: Climbing and Descending (Full Flight on YT)
Today was one of the warmest days of the year. I got to the airfield and was briefed on how to climb and descend using the PAT (Power Attitude Trim) climb and descent technique and I was taught the APT ( Attitude Power Trim) technique for leveling off. Overall, it was a good lesson and the views were great. Select the YouTube link below to view the full flight:
YouTube Full Flight Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpnoD6O8PwI
6. Lesson 6: First Time Flying Circuits
Today was a fantastic day as I practiced something I always used to practice on my home flight simulator. I flew the circuit! My instructor soon became aware that my flying skill and knowledge was somewhat above average thanks to many years of professional flight simming which meant I skipped ahead a few lessons on the course and moved onto circuits – where all the competencies I’ve gained so far were put into practice. I remember my first circuit and seeing the joy on my face. Everything was coming back to my mind and it was great practicing flying the circuit nice and early. I remember the smile on my face in the briefing room before the flight when my flight instructor mentioned I was going to fly circuits. I also remember I did my first ever landing which was awesome! The lesson ended with a nice cup of coffee after my post-flight briefing.
7. Lesson 7: First landing – Some More Circuit Flying
Another warm day today. I woke up looking forward to the flight. Got to the airfield and had my briefing. After a quick pre-flight, I practiced a few more circuits. Overall, a nice lesson. My instructor perceived my radiotelephony was improving and progressing well.
8. Lesson 8: Practicing Circuit Emergencies and Go Arounds
Today was one of my favourite lessons. I commenced my first grass take-off and landing and practiced variation of circuits (short field, soft field, glide etc). My instructor stated I made some good progress with my flight training. The full video of this flight will soon become available on this website under the Videos section.
9. Lesson 9: Revision of Circuits and Lesson 8
Again, consolidating skills and competencies as well as building confidence and those hours in the logbook.
10. Lesson 10: Turning and Revision of Climbing and Descending
Another one of those memorable flights. I was briefed on turning using the 3 B’s method (Bank – Balance – Back Pressure). So banking with ailerons, balancing with rudder to keep the ball on the slip/skid indicator on my G5 in the middle and applying some elevator back pressure. I then practiced turning medium level turns as well as climbing and descending turns. One of my highlights of this lesson was I remember flying precisely over a 747 which was one of my bucket list things to do. I was just in awe and that image will forever remain in my head. At the end of my flight, it was concluded I made some really good progress today.
11. Lesson 11: Practiced Turning and an Overhead Join
Today I consolidated on turning. I was more confident in my radios and I became more comfortable with the aircraft handling. At the end of the lesson when I was coming in to land, I performed an overhead join – something I hadn’t tried before. Today was a slightly cold day so after I landed and put some cabin heat on, I remember my instructor mentioning I made some good progress today.
12. Lesson 12: Further Variation of Circuits and EFATO as well as RTO (Full Flight on YT)
Back to circuits again! Today I commenced flapless, glide approach and standard circuits as well as some go-arounds. I also did some Engine Failure After Take-off (EFATO) practice as well as rejected take-off practice to end the day. A really good lesson on the whole and I’m progressing well with my pilot training. Select the YouTube link below to view the full flight.
YouTube Full Flight Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5D9iVmchW4
13. Lesson 13: Slow Flight and the First Part of Stalling
Another warm day today. I drove to the airfield and had a briefing on slow flight, what to expect and basic stall recovery. After commencing those, I did my first stall today which felt fantastic! Stalling will also be covered later on in my airline pilot training during the UPRT (Upset Prevention and Recovering Training) phase. It’s also tested on the skills test. After the great lesson, I had learnt a lot and one of improvement I had to work on was making smoother landings as the landing I did at the end was slightly harder than normal. This was something I had to work on and practice in order to fly solo. Apart from that, the stalling and slow flight flying was good and commenced well with the correct technique. See the videos taken from the flight below at the end of this blog.
14. Lesson 14: Crosswind Landings and Takeoff as well as Short Field and Revision of Circuits
An extra “hour building” flight, the plan for today was to complete stalling and practice flying in windy conditions. The winds were right on the crosswind limitation for the Cessna 152 Aerobat which made for some good practice flying in challenging conditions and would improve my skill as a pilot. However, as the cloud base was too low, it meant I couldn’t complete the final parts of the stalling exercise. With briefing complete, I took off and managed to do 1 stall before realising the cloud base was reducing dramatically. This meant I had to practice some challenging windy flying with my instructor commencing crosswind take-offs and landings in a very busy circuit! After lots of crosswind take-offs and landings, the lesson ended with a very tired arm but better skill as a pilot. It was a turbulent, windy day to say the least but nevertheless, I had a very interesting lesson. The next time I land and fly on a windy day, I would certainly be able to fly with ease and confidence thanks to this lesson. The day ended with a smile on my face and an extra 1 hour in the logbook. See the videos below taken from the flight to see how strong the winds were!
15. Lesson 15: Stalling Complete and ELT Failure
The weather was beautiful today. Nice and sunny with clear skies. With no cloud base to worry about nor strong winds, the weather was finally perfect to complete stalling. I was briefed on the final parts of stalling and after completing my pre-flight walk-around, I took-off. But as I took-off, a loud beeping noise startled me and my flight instructor. And this beeping went on for the next 20 mins through our headset at full volume. We declared an emergency and had to land otherwise we most certainly would have become deaf. As a result, I flew a normal circuit and we practiced the thing which every pilot should do in an emergency. Aviate – Navigate – Communicate. I aviated and then navigated the aircraft in a standard circuit to land on the same RWY I took off from. Finally, declaring an emergency landing and parked safely on the ground we discovered the ELT somehow managed to turn on during rotation which meant emergency services were trying to locate us. Thankfully, we managed to turn it off and solve the problem. We took-off again and the final part of stalling was completed in order to finish stalling. Another memorable lesson as it was a really good test of Aviate, Navigate, Communicate. Not communicating to ATC doesn’t necessarily lead to crashes. Navigating can do but not all the time. However, aviating most certainly WILL and it’s the first thing we do in a scary emergency. We fly the aircraft first. I learnt a lot this lesson and made some real good progress.
16. Lesson 16: Revision of Circuits Variation/Emergencies
At some point, a pilot would have to fly a solo circuit. That day was quickly looming so it made sense to go over circuit variations and emergencies to progress and consolidate the skills I’ve learnt so far as I will have to apply them for my first solo. Today was a normal lesson. A pre-flight briefing was done followed by a walk-around and some circuit practice. The weather wasn’t too bad and overall, I had a good lesson gaining an extra hour or so in the logbook.
17. Lesson 17: Solo Preparation (Full Flight on YT)
Today I made a lot of progress. After having some coffee, I arrived at the airfield and had my pre-flight briefing on the plan for today. My instructor said my aims of today’s lesson were to perfect my landings, making them smooth as I had to make smoother landings in order to fly solo. I also had to ace some circuits without him saying a word during flight. So I did exactly that. Took-off and flew 2 reasonably okay circuits. Then out of nowhere, my circuits became extremely neat and perfect and my instructor sat there silent creating a solo flying environment. And to top the cherry on the cake, all my landings came together smoothly. I can finally land extremely smoothly on the centreline! I remember vacating RWY 28 and my instructor saying those words “I think you’re ready for your first solo flight next lesson.” I smiled with joy on my face – the one thing I dreamt doing all my life was soon going to occur. I was ready for my first solo day with excitement. My instructor remarked I made some amazing progress today with all the aims of the lesson successfully achieved. I perfected my landings and aced my circuits. I left the airfield with a warm glow in my stomach and enthusiasm for my next lesson. Select the YouTube link below to view the full flight before my first solo.
YouTube Full Flight Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_0jLM1NxXQ
18. Lesson 18: First Solo - My Best Flight Yet (Full Flight on YT)
Today was a big day. I had mixed feelings of excitement as well as apprehension and nervousness as I didn’t want to mess up anything. After I did my dual to solo checkout, my instructor left the aircraft and I was ready to fly a plane by myself for the first time! I was briefed to fly a standard circuit. My callsign changed from Golf Bravo Foxtrot Mike Kilo to STUDENT Golf Bravo Foxtrot Mike Kilo and I took a deep breath. The time had come – “let’s go” I said to myself! I advanced to the runway after doing my pre take-off checks and called “Student G-MK ready for departure.” It did feel quite peculiar not having an instructor next to me but the training kicked in and I did what I was taught to do many times as you can probably see by now. I took off normally and I was in the air. It was just me, nobody else and I had faith I can do it. I was singing as loud as I can in happiness; no one was there to protest. I flew a neat circuit all by myself and position my aircraft ready to land. I had dreams when I was a kid to fly a plane by myself, especially as I lived quite close to an airfield and was brought up with light propellor-powered aircraft flying over my head. Yet, here I was achieving my dream. I made my final call and performed a normal landing. The light performance of the aircraft was noticeable as there was one less person in the aircraft so the landing wasn’t extremely smooth but was adequate. I had done it! I flew a plane by myself. It was a great feeling – a sense of pride and achievement. I remember ATC and my instructor congratulating me on the radio for the milestone I had achieved. This, by far, was my best flight and a flight I will remember forever. Special thanks goes to my instructor Zack as I wouldn’t have been able to do it without him. After I was drenched in cold water and received my solo certificate, the day ended with my first 20 minutes as PIC (Pilot in Command) in the logbook. Select the YouTube link below to view the full flight of my first solo.
YouTube Full Flight Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPv4UgPWqHM
Took a while – but I got there in the end!
In between some of my lessons, a few extra, consolidation “hour-building” flights and revision lessons were done so the skills I’ve learnt are consolidated through these lessons and I am constantly working on known building blocks. Some of these extra PIC hours do count towards my CPL hour building where 170 PIC hours are required minimum. This is part of the modular flight program only. I must also point out that due to poor weather and maintenance, quite a few of my lessons for the first flying phase were cancelled which is a problem when completing your flight training in the UK during Winter and is most likely why it took so long for my first solo flight to be completed; not to mention Covid delays. Eventually, I got there. After continuous hard work and persisting – never giving up with a positive mindset, I achieved my goal and that has made room for another goal on the bucket list. Already well into the 2nd flying phase, I have flown a lot the last recent months and I am indeed proud of how much I have achieved in the last year. 2021 has certainly been my favourite year so far and I cannot wait to see what 2022 has to offer.
Wishing you all a happy new year and a fantastic 2022, your Pilot Shalin.
Footage from Lesson 14
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