Monday 21st March to Sunday 10th April 2022, total hours at AFTA, Phase 2; 87:35 (103.6% of phase 2) & Phase 3; 45:35 (73.0% of phase 3). Yes, you have read that correctly, after 313 days from my first Phase 2 flight on the 24th May 2021, I have now completed my Phase 2 foundation flying and I am so glad that it’s all done now as I’ve been working on it for so long! Not only have I completed all of my Phase 2 flights, but I’ve also made tremendous progress with my Phase 3 flying, including my first flights in the DA-42! There’s a lot of flights to tell you about, 19 in total, so strap yourself in and get ready to hear about some flying!
Monday 28th March 2022 – FM 048 Navigation 12 Solo (01:35)
Started off with a checkout where we took off from runway 16 and turned left towards Carriagline and worked on position orbiting and also holding techniques. Then returned for 3 circuits where first with 30º flaps where the landing was good, but started a little too high on the approach so had to lose altitude quickly, second with only 20º flaps and the landing was better but had a bit of a balloon and final with 30º again but was really good on touchdown.
Monday 28th March 2022 – FM 049 Navigation 13 Solo (02:30)
Took off from runway 16 again and headed down to the coast and followed it to Mizen Head before routing North to Valentia Island then to Kenmare then completed a low approach go-around at Bantree and then routed back to the coast to Ross Carbery before routing back to Cork in slow flight configuration before retuning for landing which was really good and smooth.
Tuesday 29th March 2022 – FM 051 General Handling Revision and Circuits 7 Solo (02:30)
Routed from Cork to Thurles to Galway to Tuam to Waterford and back to Cork. Completed most of the flight in slow flight configuration just to get the time up and take a while with the route which was also good practice to work on. At Waterford, the landing was a little bit flat, needed to add more power when adding the 30º flaps to prevent the sink when coming into land. In Cork, it was a lot better and worked on a short field landing so aimed for the numbers and had a positive touchdown and was good, firm which I was not used to but was okay.
Wednesday 30th March 2022 – WM 015 Normal Operations (01:30)
My first flight in the DA-42! It felt quick when flying as was good to try and get used to the new aircraft type. Routed to the South-West training area where we looked at changes of power settings on the way there. When at the South-West we did a steep turn left and right, but need to make sure I look out more as was too fixed on looking inside. Completed a clean stall and then a stall with approach flaps and both were good. Only lower the nose when have flaps, otherwise just add power. Then looked at recovering from unusual attitudes, where when recovering from nose high, lower the nose and add power; when recovering from low nose attitudes, reduce power and raise the nose, only sort out wings when above 82kts. Routed back to Cork for 3 circuits and they were good, need to remember to add rudder on finals though to maintain the centreline.
Thursday 31st March 2022 – WM 016 Circuits (01:00)
A good flight today where I managed to get 4 circuits completed in the hour slot. The first one was good, but still new so wasn’t my best that I’ve ever done, it felt okay though. The second, we had to hold at Halfway so had a look at engine failures while we were holding and these went well, the landing on the second was a fair bit off the centre line. The third was flapless and okay, but it was very flat coming in, so it meant it difficult in the flare as I removed the power too early, and thus needed some help with the landing from my instructor. The final was good, but again was a bit flat, so need to put in my crosswind corection of ailerons into wind and opposite rudder as soon as I stop crabbing to maintain the centreline. Overall though my handling skills definitely improved a lot as the lesson went on, mainly as I was looking out more.
Thursday 31st March 2022 – WM 017 Asymmetric 1 (01:00)
Worked on engine failures in the lesson and looked at them in various different ways. We started off straight and level in the cruise, in the climb, in the descent and in turns as well as progressing further to look at engine failures in the approach and turning from base to finals. I did get the drills in the wrong order sometimes so just need to make sure I focus and get them done crorrectly when the workload is high. The approach and landing to finish the lesson was really good where I maintained 2 whites and 2 reds all the way down and the approach was flown nicely into crosswind which was done using techniques learned in the previous lesson and the touchdown was very smooth and nice.
Friday 1st April 2022 – FM 052 Navigation 14 Solo (02:30)
Good flight today to finally get all of my day solo flights completed! I took off from Waterford and headed West to Mizen Head, then to Thurles, to Birr and back to Waterford to complete the necessary time in the air. The flight went well and it was nice to take it easy and look at some of the views over Ireland. When coming back in from Birr to Waterford, had to navigate round Kilkenny and the parachute drop that was happening, so had to be very vigilant and in contact with ATC a lot. On landing, it was good, had a little bounce which I corrected and the second touchdown was nice and smooth.
Saturday 2nd April 2022 – FM 041 Night 3 Solo (01:10)
Good flight to finish off in the Cessna in where I completed 5 circuits and 1 full stop, all were good and were nice and smooth, but just need to be aware not to flare too early at night and keep the nose coming down to the ground, then just let the aircraft float and almost resist the landing. We also took a detour over the harbour and over the city to kill a little bit of time as well as to get some photos, and point out a few of the landmarks at night. Overall, it was a good flight and a high to finish on the Cessna for time being!
Sunday 3rd April 2022 – WM 018 Asymmetric 2 & Circuits (01:30)
Good flight where we looked a lot at engine failures. Forgot to check gear and flaps once, but after that I didn’t forget and completed the engine failure drills in a prompt and timely manner. Practiced an asymmetric go-around away from the circuit and this was good. On return to the circuit, completed 3 touch-and-go’s and one full stop. Speed control was good coming in, but need to apply some more crosswind correction of ailerons into wind and opposite rudder during the flare. Overall, the landings were good though, one was a bit positive but still safe and fine. Engine failures practiced on upwind and downwind with the full stop landing being done asymmetrically and was done well.
Sunday 3rd April 2022 – WM 019 Asymmetric Circuits (01:00)
Good flight to finish VFR in the twin focusing on asymmetric profiles at various points in the circuit. Engine failures were handled well, but could still do with some more practice with single engine approaches and I was too hesitant to adjust the power and therefore was very high on some of the approaches – my instructor seems to think this is just practice as I knew what to do but didn’t do it quick enough. Need to make sure when landing or doing a touch and go that I don’t ease out of the descent as I approach the runway as this means speed bleeds off and coming in flat and slow which has potential for a stall.
Monday 4th April 2022 – WM 020 NDB Tracking & Holding (01:30)
Not a great sim today. Started off by tracking inbound and outbound radials on the NDB at Waterford using the ADF, and need to create a mental picture of where am I and where I am needing to go and this will help to prevent errors being made. When turning, do things one at a time to reduce workload in the turn and this will also help prevent further mistakes when in the turn, i.e. turn the dead frequency VOR, then the heading bug, then turn. On the approaches, I was very low to begin with and thus speed was also too low so nearly stalled the aircraft, and on the second, I was too high and too fast and resulted in putting in landing flaps at too high speed and a rough approach to land.
Tuesday 5th April 2022 – WM 021 ILS Approaches (01:10)
The sim went really well where we first flew radar vectored after taking off to intercept the ILS for runway 34 and flew the ILS without any wind. Learnt to fly it with a technique where once intercepted the glideslope and configured, fly with 5º nose down and either raise or lower the nose to 2.5º/7.5º to re-intercept the glidepath if necessary. Flew a couple more times without wind, then added in crosswind and turbulence and still flew them well which I am really happy with!
Wednesday 6th April 2022 – WM 022 NDB Holds & Approaches (01:30)
Good lesson where we started off by tracking QDM and QDR, but need to be careful with what I’m saying to ensure the numbers I’m calculating are correct and being said correctly. We then joined the NDB hold and this was done accurately and I was happy with how I handled the hold and made corrections in the hold as well. When shown on the screen these looked very good too. At the end of the lesson, threw a double engine failure on me and I managed to glide it back to Waterford, but the landing was rather dodgy however!
Wednesday 6th April 2022 – WM 023 Asymmetric Ops IMC/IFR (01:30)
Lots of engine failures thrown at me at all different phases of flight. Need to make sure that when I’m in IMC/IFR conditions that I continue on current heading and follow ATC guidance as I cannot see terrain/obstacles/other aircraft. Looked at engine restarts in the air, and need to make sure that I’m at the correct altitude to carry these out. Finished the lesson with both 2D and 3D approaches and these were good and handled well with engine failures.
Thursday 7th April 2022 – WM 024 DME Arcs & Non-Precision Approaches (01:30)
First threw an engine failure on take off at me when I wasnt expecting it and I handled it well. Looked at intercepting the arc from the inside (100º) so was on the 320º radial so turned onto 220º to intercept the arc and then flew the arc accuratly to join the UPLOM hold and flew this well before flying the VOR and then routed back to fly the ILS for Runway 34 and this was flown really well and the landing wasn’t too bad to either bearing in mind it was in the sim!
Thursday 7th April 2022 – WM 025 IF Cross-Country (01:50)
Flight went well and now finished in the sim! Flew the VAPAL 1 Q SID and learned how to offset the track by a set distance and then intercept it again to route onto VAPAL. Routed back from VAPAL to fly the TISMO 1R STAR and was the first time flying this and flew it well after studying the plate. Flew an RNP on 16 and was flown well with an engine failure on the upwind climbout and routed back for an ILS on runway 16. Engine failure was due to a fuel leak, but need to be careful with checks to ensure I actually check rather than just reading through the checklist and seeing what I want to see. ILS to land was very good an happy.
Friday 8th April 2022 – WM 027 DME Arcs & NDB Approaches (01:50)
A good flight back in the plane where we took off from 34 to intercept the 320º radial and then joined the arc and routed to the UPLOM hold where it was well calculated well to fly for 3 rounds. Flew an RNP approach for 34 and nearly went to half scale deflection so need to remember to put more right rudder in on the approach when the gear is down. VOR approach was well flown with less deviation. Routed to the SW training area, and practiced steep turns; clean incipient recovery, landing incipient recovery and turning incipient recovery stalls; compass turns and then routed back to the field for an asymmetric landing.
Saturday 9th April 2022 – WM 028 IR Routes 4 (02:05)
Good flight today where we flew the VAPAL 1Q SID to VAPAL then routed using the GPS to Waterford on autopilot. When at Waterford we joined the NDB hold via a direct entry, and worked on the hold, then routed to the East for another entry to the hold before flying the NDB approach with an engine failure on the upwind. We routed back to Cork and en-route worked on some steep turns and some stalls. Joined the RNP 16 approach and this was flown really well and the landing was very good too.
Sunday 10th April 2022 – WM 029 IR Routes 5 (01:50)
Good flight where we followed the KURUM 1Q SID to CK001 rather than flying the full SID. We then climbed to 5,000ft to route to Shannon where we set up the autopilot and got everything set up early in advance to reduce workload at the critical stages of flights. When at Shannon we routed to the beacon and flew outbound following the procedural ILS and performed a low approach go-around with really strong crosswinds, and did well to keep it on profile coming down. We routed back to Cork and did a RNP approach on 16 where the weather was even worse and did well to get it on the ground smoothly.
And that concludes all of the flights that I’ve been doing – I did warn you it was a lot! But I haven’t stopped there either! As a requirement to take our CPL, we need to complete a written test on the aircraft we’ll be in, in my case the Diamond DA-42 as well as a multi-engine theory test. On Wednesday 6th April 2022, I completed these tests. You’re allowed 2 hours to answer 40 questions in both, and I’m delighted to say that I have passed both of them first time! I achieved a result of 98% (39/40) in the DA-42 tech test, and in the MEP test I achieved 88% (35/40) which I am delighted to have achieved. I’ve spent so long revising for them, that for me to achieve these results is proof that hard work always pays off in the end!
While I’m on the topic of hard work, I have the immense joy to say that both Josh and Kyle have passed their CPL skills test exams, both with first series passes which is a huge achievement and they should both be incredibly proud of themselves – I know I am proud of you both. We’ve been on this journey together for a while now, and to see you both now qualified commercial pilots is such an achievement.
We’ve had many highs together, when we’ve been flying, and when we haven’t, making the most of the time we’ve been in Ireland together and without fail having so many laughs along the way – usually at someone else’s expense! We’ve also managed to share so many memories together like when we took a few days in the summer to go and visit Dublin as a trio, or on days out all round the South of Ireland, and even times that have seemed so insignificant at the time but have proven to be a great time to look back on. We’ve all had our own lows at times, but you’ve been there for me every step of the way and I cannot thank you enough for being there for me and I hope I’ve been there for you too when you’ve needed it.
As I’ve said, I am so proud of you for both achieving your first series passes in your CPL skills test and can’t wait to hear all about your ME/IR training that you’re both starting in Cranfield together! I won’t be far behind you guys and we can catch up over a beer soon and you can pre-warn me of the joys still to come in our training!
With all these flights that I’ve had and the success of Josh and Kyle, this brings this blog to a close. If you’ve managed to make it this far, then I cannot thank you enough for continuing to read my blog after so much to read! Every ounce of support I receive from you is so much appreciated and means the world to me. As I said, I’m hoping that I won’t be long until I’m finishing here in Ireland and obtaining my own CPL licence! With that note, thank you so much for tuning in, and I’ll catch you all next time!
