Floating and Flying

Today, I shall start by explaining the flight I took this week with Clive. On Wednesday, Clive decided to introduce me to, and cover in the syllabus, instrument flying. The art of being able to operate an aircraft in circumstances where simply looking out the window isn't an option. My course dictates that I must be able to complete a full 180° turn while under "The Hood"
and for those who are unaware, "The Hood" (or Foggles) are generic terms given to a pair of glasses or headband that limits a pilots view so they can only see the instrument panel. The aim of which is to simulate IMC (Instrument Meteorological Conditions) at any time of year and with minimal risk,   for the purpose of practising this unique and challenging task.


Now, my experience of instrument flying can only be described as disorientating. Clive briefed me on what we would cover during our flight and to what direction we would travel. Apart from that, if you were to ask me specifically where we went, I would not for the life of me be able to give you an accurate answer. Luckily the weather was suitable for VFR (Visual Flight Rules) flying and therefore Clive had a perfectly good idea and view of where we were flying to and has since told me that we were operating out to sea near Hastings. I cant tell you that we were operating at between 1800-2500ft.

The Attitude Indicator

So, to start with I was able to taxi and take off without my vision being impaired, all went well and I feel as though my initial call was on point. Once we departed from Runway 03 we climbed past 500ft and before I was handed the dreaded "Foggles" that reside in Clive's flight bag. Once I had put them on I immediately understood why people in the past had told me they feel ill whenever they go under the hood or put on the foggles. Suddenly the general operation of an aircraft becomes very close and mentally hectic. Instead of using the horizon as a reference to attitude you now find yourself staring primarily at the Attitude indicator (AI) instead of out of the window. It is then a matter of scanning the instrument panel and maintaining a number of different factors all at once; Including heading, altitude, attitude and/or VOR track.


As if it wasn't enough of a challenge Clive then blanked out the AI  and the heading indicator, meaning that I was now flying the aircraft with references only from the "Turn and Slip indicator" and magnetic compass. This was by far those most challenging flying I've ever done, but also the most rewarding. After doing recoveries from unusual attitudes, climbing and descending turns, VOR tracking and finally some NDB tracking back to Lydd. I was allowed to remove the foggles as we approached the overhead where we completed a standard right hand circuit for 03.


Moving on, I would like to explain why I have titled this weeks post "Floating and Flying".


Due to some adverse weather we had (as I'm sure the local audience will know) we at Lydd found ourselves under around 2 inches of water, inside the airport! As you can see in the photo on the right, the entire club ended up being flooded, and it wasn't just the club, the airport lounge and restaurant were all flooded. I can safely say that I have never experienced anything like this in the UK the rain fell so hard the new "Lydd Aero Lake" formed in just under 40 minutes and took the rest of the day to clear, using brooms, brushes and vacuum cleaners. it is only now, 4 days later that the carpet is actually dry.

















Sticking with the water theme, I spent my entire weekend in or around the seaside. On Saturday I was fortunate enough to compete with my friend Jack in the RYA Topper National dinghy sailing regatta in Whistable. Although we didn't win the race, we were actually out to sea beneath the displays that were happening as part of the Herne Bay airshow. Featuring displays from the likes of the world famous RAF Red Arrows and Vulcan XH558 V-bomber, who sadly is retiring at the end of this season. So the opportunity to see it display from such a unique perspective meant that the dinghy race was the last thing on my mind as I left Whistable that day.




As always, thank you very much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this post. Next week I'm hoping to catch up with my friends who have no completed their CPLs and also do some more research on my Aircraft of the month for August.