Monday 11th April to Sunday 1st May 2022, total hours at AFTA, Phase 3; 54:55 (100.9% of phase 3) & Phase 4; 08:35 (107.3% of phase 4) & AUPRT; 03:00 (100.0% of AUPRT). I have now completed all of my training here in Ireland! A day I never though that would come has finally come around as I have now passed my CPL exam and I can go back home! I have a fair few flights to tell you about before I got to my CPL exam though, so without further delaying, here they are…
Monday 11th April 2022 – WM 030 IR Routes 6 (02:15)
Good flight where we got radar vectored out of Cork as the VOR was inoperational and routed up to Shannon where we performed one ILS but flying in at 140kts as if at an airline and configured at 4.0 DME for a missed approach, and then routed round for another ILS but done as one engine inoperative. On the way back to Cork we encountered some heavy icing and tried climbing to FL090 but didn’t work so had to come back down for warmer temperatures to melt the ice. Visibility decreasing at Cork so had to make an ILS for a full stop rather than as planned to perform a missed approach. Landing was good though, but need to be aware of the localiser when coming down as slightly drifted off.
Tuesday 12th April 2022 – WM 031 IR Routes 7 (02:40)
Another good flight and my instructor was really particular which is good when coming close to my CPL now as I’d rather he’d be over critical than under. We routed to Shannon via the KURUM 1Q SID and talked about what nav aids we use in what part of the approach – at Shannon we use the VOR outbound then the ILS inbound so these need to be set accordingly. At Shannon completed 6 circuits, one of which was a low approach go around, and all of these were good and went through flapless and asymmetric. Back at Cork we did an RNP on 16 to land and this was also nice.
Wednesday 13th April 2022 – UPRT.ADV.1.F Aircraft with Angle of Attack Instrument (01:00)
I now know what it feels like to be clothes in the washing machine or tumble drier! We looked at lots of different stalls and in different configurations as well as getting used to the feeling of pulling 2g in both the climbs and descents and in steep turns of 60º angle of bank. We looked at what to do in spins and spiral dives and what the effects of power are in different recoveries. We finished the lesson by completing lazy 8’s combining all of what we’ve learned in the lesson and these in a way were quite fun, even if I was a little reluctant to pull the full 2g! The landing was good after coming in on a tight base and finals.
Thursday 14th April 2022 – UPRT.ADV.3.F Aircraft with Autopilot (01:05)
Good flight where we looked at the autopilot and the dangers of not knowing what mode it is in and what it’s trying to do, as well as how to recover when it does go wrong. The main thing to take away is to disengage the autopilot and push down, remove the trim and only add power if necessary – if out of trim and adding power, this can exacerbate the condition and make things worse. A few other upset recovery manoeuvers based on the other lesson and these all went well too.
Thursday 14th April 2022 – WM 032 PT 2 (02:35)
Another good lesson where we routed on the VAPAL 1Q SID to EIWF. Get the briefings done a little earlier when the workload is low rather thna trying to brief on the outbound bearings of the approach. Also need to be careful to only descend in the approach when I am established outbound and not before as this does not guarantee terrain clearance otherwise. Routed back to Cork after NDB holds, NDB appraoch and ILS approach where we did a low approach go-around on RNP 16 and then was radar vectored back for an ILS on 16 to land.
Friday 15th April 2022 – WM 026 NDB Holds and Approaches (01:50)
Good flight this evening where we took off and looked at intercepting QDM and QDR’s based on our distance. We then looked at how we would fly a DME arc and then maintaining the arc when flying round both clockwise and anti-clockwise. We then executed a couple of steep turns to the left and the right and these were good, just need to make sure not to climb too much is all. Then routed back for an ILS on 16 where had a laser shone at us and the cloud was only 100ft above minimas so was lucky to get it on the ground! On landing need to be careful that the ground comes up quicker on us.
Thursday 21st April 2022 – WM 033 CPL Profile 1 (02:00)
Good flight where I’m told that it would be a PWB so there are still a few areas to work on. The initial nav was good and the times were quite accurate which is good to see, the diversion however wasn’t so good as I need to pay attention to what distance and to mark on the map the halfway point and confirm the time as this will help. In the general handling, the steep turns were just in limits so need to push the nose forwards in the rollout. The stalls were good, but need to let the energy build first in the fully developed stall before pulling up. Engine failure drills, make sure they’re smooth and consise and don’t miss any steps. The circuits were good to finish, need to carry over the flapless landing into another mock though for practice.
Thursday 21st April 2022 – UPRT.ADV.2.F Aerobatic Aircraft (00:55)
Thank goodness I am done with my AUPRT! We took off and routed to the South West training area, where we looked at the autopilot briefly as we used it to route over there. We then worked on out lazy eights which I was pulling slightly more than 2G at times – overcompensating for last time! As we were light fuel, I got shown a spin which was rather awful and that is what made me feel a bit queasy and required the blowers on me! We then looked at unusual attitudes and recovering from them, and he even put the autopilot on without me knowing, which I identified quickly and made a nice recovery.
Tuesday 26th April 2022 – WM 034 CPL Profile 2 (02:00)
Another good flight and probably would’ve been a pass but need to work on my general handling to be safe so next lesson, the plan is to do just general handing and circuits and crispen these up. We routed to Fethard initially and my nav was good, times slightly different but not too concerning. In general handling, just need to relax more and ease up on the controls and this will make it more accurate. In the circuits, these were done well, but need to remember that if I need to slow down, the easiest way to do so is to add flaps and let the drag take care of the speed. On the ground, he checked over all my planning and asked me a lot of questions which I handled really well, so much so he called me Alexa!
Thursday 28th April 2022 – WM 035 CPL Profile 3 (02:15)
Remember to breathe! Take time to just have a moment and make sure everything is going how I want it to go, rather than just riushing through it. Pre-flight briefing was good and to a very high standard. On take-off when cleared to the first VRP, route directly there rather than flying a partial circuit unless told to do so (when under radar control). When on navigation, take a second to verify and gross error check t make sure that what I’m going looks right and fly the heading bug, making adjustments to it if needed. General handing done well, but need to resist the temptation to pitch down on incipient recoveries, instead, add power and check for level flight acceleration and pitch to maintain altitude or climb. Take a few moments to calculate compadss turns – again there is no rush! Look out lots on steep turns, this will help control the altitude better too. Unusual attitude recoveries were good using the corect technique. Circuits were good with approaches stable and accurate. Tried to level off a little high so just let it come down a bit longer. EFATO take time to breate and fly the aircraft, don’t put myself under unnecessary pressure by rushing… 5º nose up and direction control, breathe, identify, “live” power, gear & flap, re-identify by no change in yaw, master, alternator and fuel selector off, simulate pan pan call.
Saturday 30th April 2022 – CPL Skills Test (02:20)
Please see my other blog on this to get there please click this link:
30/04/2022 – CPL Skills Test Examination
Needless to say, I passed my CPL exam first time!
With me passing my CPL, that now brings my journey here in Ireland to a close. I’ve made some amazing memories with some even more amazing people and I’ll remember this part of my journey to becoming a pilot for the rest of my life. I cannot thank the instructors enough for all of their help and support they’ve given me as I wouldn’t have made it this far if it wasn’t for them! I’ll say more of my thank you’s in the blog detailing everything about my CPL (it seems more fitting there), so please don’t think I’ve forgotten about anyone!
The next stage for me is my Phase 5 training back in the U.K. where I’ll be completing my Multi-Engine Instrument Rating (ME/IR) which is the next step closer to becoming an airline pilot! As and when I know more about this, I will let you know!
Until next time, where I’ll be hopefully letting you know all about starting my ME/IR training, thank you very much for the support you’ve all given me on this part of my journey. At times it hasn’t been easy but with every like, comment, share, message of support it has given me enormous strength to continue and get to the end and make you all proud! Thank you very much once again, and until next time, I’ll catch you all real soon!
