Going Somewhere

As I mentioned in my last post, I was doing a flight plan.  I even used that flight plan and flew to Raglan and back.  How exciting to say that I've now used my own pilot skills to fly myself somewhere for a little mini holiday!

Now, I didn't go all by myself of course.  My husband is an instructor in the microlight class, so he took the title of Pilot in Command while I did all the work. 

We packed up one of the "microlight" aircraft the flying school has on offer, a Tecnam P92 Echo Super.  Now, some of you may be thinking I'm talking about a low performance, open cockpit, fabric construction plane when I say microlight but instead I mean one of these:

 

You may also remember my post on aviator chic "Flying in Style" in which I kinda promised an outfit shot when I thought I was doing all right looking "casually glamorous" when heading off for a lesson and this is about as close as we're going to get.  It was a warm day out so I went with black trouser style shorts, belted with a brown leather belt, topped with a light weight leopard print cardi worn as a blouse and little brown ballet flats.  Not exactly an Amelia Earhart look but better than my usual!

And before I get side-tracked onto a style post, onward to an in flight photo (where, incidentally, you can see my rhinestone headset doing it's job...)

 

And here's my husband, moving the plane to a suitable spot to tie it down overnight.  The wide expanse of grass to the left in the photo is where I landed the plane.  It was my first grass landing, and a bit tricky as there is no "runway" to aim for - just a big ol' paddock.

That night in Raglan, we stayed at a nice little bach and had a night out to see the One Man Ska Band, Chris Murray (all the way from LA), and supporting act from Auckland Atsushi and the Moisties.  A great night of ska and many impressed people around when they found out we flew down for the show :)  Just one photo of Chris Murray jamming with this guy Nate who played the harmonica...it was awesome!

In the morning, we were happy to find the plane still tied down, exactly where we left it...

 

On the way home, my husband was so relaxed, he spent most of his time taking photos of the rugged west coast as we flew along.

I must say, there is something quite satisfying about having completed a successful cross-country flight...and not just any cross-country but one that took me somewhere I needed to go for a specific event.  This little jaunt was quite possibly just what I needed to get back to my PPL lessons.  Looking in my logbook, it's sad to note that my last PPL lesson was on 10 Oct - over a month ago.

Navigation and Flight Planning

Even Spock had to use an E6B Flight Computer once in a while

Today I had my first "lesson" in navigation and flight planning.  My darling husband, who scored excellently on his PPL Navigation exam, and who is a microlight instructor went through a basic flight plan with me today.  

There is some pleasure in this business.  Yes, I have to learn how to do flight planning, and use an E6B Flight Computer, but in this case the flight plan is for a trip to Raglan that we will be doing tomorrow afternoon.  It has been some time since I flew anywhere besides in the circuit so this should be fun.  

The flight computer is a simple, yet complex little tool that I need a lot more practice on.  Today I worked on the basics and I will go again tomorrow with the new weather data for the day.  Hopefully, one day I'll be as much of a master on the E6B as Spock...

A Gap in Flying Despite Good Weather

You may, or may not, be wondering where I've been.  The weather has been good and there have been plenty of flying opportunities, yet my blog remains inactive for a couple weeks.

The main reason is that my mother was visiting from overseas and I didn't want to waste any of the short time I would have with her off flying or on the computer.  We enjoyed all of the great weather we had and I even got her to go up with my husband for a flight to Pauanui where they had a nice lunch.

I'll be back to flying soon, got to go and get my medical and T-up my next exam.  I passed the Law exam I took, no worries...funny story, my husband and I got the same mark on that one! 

Hope everyone else is enjoying the spring weather!

Silver Wings - New Zealand Women in Aviation

A little while ago, I got my hands on a copy of Silver Wings - New Zealand Women in Aviation.  I managed to get it for a bargain price but would fully recommend it at the full retail price as well.  It's a beautiful little soft cover book, with 288 pages and as many photographs.

The book chronicles the women flying in New Zealand from Gladys Sanford receiving her pilots license in Dec 1925 up to modern women flying any and every type of aircraft you can imagine at all levels.

My favourite photos were those of the women in the 1960's and 1970's - many of them recreational pilots - dressed in some of the most fashionable items of the times with hair to match and ready to fly!  As I said in in my post Flying in Style, the best clothes for flying aren't necessarily the most fashionable or stylish, so these women are yet another source of Aviator Chic inspiration.

The easiest way to get your hands on a copy of this great book is to order it from NZAWA via this order form.  Alternately, you can borrow it from your local library (if they have it) or scour Trademe and used book stores to find a more modestly priced copy if you really want to own it but can't afford the $50 price tag.

Here's a little sneak peek of photos found in the book.  (Please note, I took these from the NZAWA order form as I didn't think it fair of me to scan and redistribute the images from the book without permission.)

Aviation Law Exam

I couldn't think of a witty or exciting title for this blog...possibly because there's nothing witty or exciting about studying aviation law.

Tomorrow I have to sit my Law exam.  The reading for this exam has been particularly brutal - even less interesting than Aircraft Tech.  All I can do is read it through and hope to memorise enough information (there really is no comprehension needed to pass this exam) to pass the exam.

It's been a short turn around since the last exam, only two weeks.  That's good though, it means I've had less time to agonize about getting through the book and that I've just had to push myself (and my husband) to read the chapters and do the reviews.

My next exams will be Meteorology and Navigation - both of which will require a concerted effort in studying, and perhaps some tuition from one of the instructors to help get me through.  Hopefully I'll catch on quickly and actually enjoy the subjects!

What a difference a day makes.

Yesterday morning was sunny and relatively calm.  Not an exceptionally warm day,  but warm enough that I went for my flying lesson in a tshirt dress, no jacket.  By last evening, the temperature had dropped and the wind started to pick up.  During the night, I woke up to the sounds of screaming wind and driving rain - had the thought that the planes had all better be tied down well.  This morning, just 24 hours from yesterday's lesson, the wind continues to howl and little bursts of rain come and go - it's amazing how much the weather can change in just one day.

Yesterday's lesson was definite preparation for me going solo.  We revisited engine failure after take off and glide approaches.  We went around and around.  And around.  For 1.2 hours.  The last landing I did was mint, but there were a number of marginal ones before it.  I'm finding it really hard to judge my own progress at this stage...

On The Verge

After a flight today with our female senior instructor, we were discussing my progress.  "You are on the verge, lady" she said to me.  I replied, "So, best get that medical then?"  "Oh, yes," she replied, "we don't want you stuck going round and round much longer."

So, a glimmer of hope for solo before 15 hours.  I have flown 13 hours including today's 1.1.  The weather today was almost perfect...just could have used a bit of head wind to slow our progress on final. 

Once we hopped out of the plane, we had fish and chips lunch with the boys at the field and I crossed the car park for home.  On my facebook, I found some wonderful photos my husband took of my "on the verge" of being 1 year old daughter watching me fly the plane...

Love it!  Hope everyone else is loving something as well :)