Another lesson in the circuit planned for today, and I was hoping for better weather than last week.
The alarm went off and I grabbed the laptop from off the bedroom floor where I had left it, (no sense getting out of bed if the weather is no good!) and started to download the TAF’s, METAR and latest forecast. The weather did look better then last time;
EGNJ 150720Z 07009KT 9999 FEW020 16/12 Q1034
As you can see only 9 knots but at 070 it would be unlikely that I would be using the main runway. It was the cross wind that I struggled to cope with last week.
I was soon on my way and I kept thinking about the circuits from last week and how bad they were. Once at the club, Richard my instructor sent me off to check out BAFU (or to give her full name G-BAFU). BAFU looked very smart in her new red and white paint work, I had not flown BAFU (an old Cherokee) since 23rd October 2005 and I spent the first few minutes getting used to the controls which are different to all the other PA-28’s.
With the checks complete, and with me and Richard strapped in, I started the engine. As soon as the engine burst into life I started the next set of checks; starter warning light off, temperature and pressures in the green. Once all these checks were complete it was time to get the latest weather. I tuned the radio to the ATIS, 124.12 and started to listen and make notes. Surface wind was now 100 degrees at 9 knots and the weather CAVOK! Just what the doctor ordered. I retuned my radio to the tower, 124.90.
“Humberside Tower good morning, SOLO02 outside the hangar, request radio check and taxi, I have information India with a QNH of 1034”
“SOLO02, readability 5 information India correct, QFE 1031, your cleared to line up on runway 09 via Alpha to commence your power checks.”
“QFE 1031, line up runway 09 via Alpha”
I repeated back.
We both noted the time, and with the clearance to proceed, I reduced the power, took off the brake, then it was power back up and we gently accelerated up to a quick walking pace. First the difficult part, “Alpha”. Now where was that and did he mean for me to actually get onto runway 21 via Alpha, to get to runway 09; had what he said meant I had permission to use runway 21 as a taxiway. He had said runway 09 via Alpha, so I headed off to Bravo as point Alpha was not somewhere I had gone very often then I spotted Alpha to the right. As I came up to the holding point I asked Richard if I could actually cross over the line and onto runway 21, Richard confirmed I could, so using runway 21, the main runway of Humberside International Airport as my own personal taxiway I headed off, to line up and start my power checks. After the checks I got on the radio and announced I was ready for departure. Clearance was soon given and off I went. It had been a long time since I had flown from runway 09 and there are not many landmarks, but I maintained a reasonable circuit. The first landing was not too bad and much better then the ones last week. After first fixing the numbers in my windscreen and holding them there with the power, I switched to looking further ahead to give me better height and depth perception in the last 100 feet, this was something I had re-read in my training manual in the previous week. Richard said the only problem with it was that I had rounded out too low. Oh well not a bad first attempt, and it certainly improved my confidence.
Flaps to 0 and full power again, we soon took off from our rolling start, and it was round again for a second attempt. Second landing I tried rounding out earlier, too early it seemed and then as I flared too high we came down to earth with a hard bounce onto the runway. Once again we removed the flaps and took back off.
Third was about right, descend to about 10 feet over the numbers, reduce power all the way and just wait for the speed to bleed off, as the plane starts to drop, pull back on the yoke, holding the nose wheel and the aircraft off the ground as long as possible. Finally the main wheels touched down and the nose wheel followed. Not perfect, I had not used enough rudder and we had drifted to the right of the centre line with the slight cross wind but the best landing of all year! From then on they were fairly consistent. After six landings in total we called it quits for the day. All in all a good days flying and Richard says that it was good enough for me to go solo again. Lets hope the weather still holds!