General Rambling

After all the excitement of the alternator problem last time out, it's been a month of consolidation and confidence-building for me and CC.

The Welsh Hills near Abergavenny on a recent local flight

The alternator failure was a bit of a wake-up call for me, a gentle reminder that sometimes, things will go wrong. I wouldn't say that I've been getting complacent, but having not had a 'real' emergency in flight,  I was thankful that the first problem I had wasn't a true life-or-death situation! Reading through the flying forums that are available across the web, you don't have to look far to find a posting regarding an incident, but I still believe that flying is only as dangerous as you make it. Obviously you can't anticipate engine failures, but good training and attitude could genuinely save your skin one day. This video illustrates the value of well-drilled emergency procedures and keeping a calm head under pressure and I'd like to think that in a similar situation I'd make a similarly good fist of things, even if my watch isn't as expensive as that in the video! My PPL instructor once told me that once the engine quits, the aircraft belongs to the insurance company, and the pilots only responsibility is for the safety of those on board (and on the ground), which seems a reasonable mantra to me.

Aircraft accidents and emergencies have been at the forefront of public attention recently, with the uncontained failure of a Rolls-Royce Trent 900 on a Qantas A380 last week. The nature of the failure was pretty severe, and it looks like a turbine-disk got away, but the hysterical ramblings of the mainstream media really irritate me. The way the TV News whittled on you'd have thought that the flight had been lost with all on board, but due to the training of the crew there was no disaster - I suspect they could teach the BBC a few things in terms of professionalism. Qantas had a similar uncontrolled failure of an RB211 on a 747 less than two months previously, with a similar number on board, which didn't even make the news, probably because the aircraft wasn't largely of British origin. Trying to rubbish indigenous engineering achievements is, sadly, a favourite past-time of the British media, and the wonder of seeing an 800ton behemoth lumber into the sky apparently pales in comparison to the 'shock' that the public assumption that all modern machines will be 100% reliable has turned out to be unrealistic.

7000ft in a Cherokee. It's always sunny up here. Cold, too!

Anyway, rant over, and back to my own flying. Charlie-Charlie had a couple of weeks of down time to sort out the alternator issues, which haven't resurfaced, but out of caution (and a bit of a lack of confidence, I'll admit), I decided to replace the trip I had planned to Duxford with my Dad with a short local. This was was to be my first completely solo flight in CC, with no passengers at all, so I took the opportunity to do some general handling and some manoeuvres which inexperienced passengers normally find a little too vigorous and uncomfortable (including a practice forced landing after watching the video above). The weather was a bit overcast, but I found a gap in the clouds and took the opportunity to climb up to about 7000ft. The view over the top of the overcast was wonderful, and I was probably the only person in Gloucestershire to see the sun shine that day. I've got to get an instrument qualification at some point so that I can do this any time I like!

The next trip was to take my friend Dixie up for a blat around. The initial suggestion was to fly around the local patch, then return to Gloucester, but after my solo local flight, I was keen to go somewhere for a coffee. Dixie hadn't flown in a light aircraft before so there was a possibility of air-sickness, so we settled on Shobdon, near Hereford as a destination, mainly because it's close by, but also because I hadn't been there before (odd, considering it's probably the closest airfield to base!).

Flight planning consisted of checking the NOTAMS and weather, and calling up the destination to inform them that we would be coming, but not actually planning a route, since Shobdon isn't far outside the area that I use for general handling exercises, so I know the way by heart. We didn't need fuel, and the weather was fine, so departure was quick and easy. We ended up flying via Kidderminster, and West-Midland Safari Park, so we got to see some animals as well.

My landing at Shobdon, filmed by a helpful passenger!

There were some radio issues at Shobdon. The airfield radio was very quiet, which added a little bit of stress turning the volume controls up and down depending on who was talking, but other than that it was a straightforward join and landing, followed by a great coffee and bacon sandwich, helpfully paid for by my willing passenger! Our visit was cut a little short by incoming showers, and the trip back to Gloucester was a bit grey and murky, but very definitely still VMC.

A hangar buddy of CC. $500,000 worth when it was new!

On return to Gloucester we got the usual excellent service from ATC, and a very helpful direct join to slot in around Seneca's doing circuits and practise instrument approaches. Back on the ground, Dixie seemed most impressed with CC, but even more impressed with the Cirrus and Seneca which we share hangar space with. I always think it's strange that you drag other peoples aircraft around to get yours out, when the Cirrus costs more than twice as much as my house. It's like leaving a Ferrari 599 in a multi-storey car park with the handbrake off, so people can move it if it's in their way.

I love taking people flying: It's just so much better than being on the ground! When I was training I'd looked forward to taking all of my friends up, and generally anyone who I thought could persuade to come. In practice though, arranging a mutually convenient time, and getting that to coincide with aircraft availability and decent weather has proved very difficult, so I've only taken a few people. I'll be looking to address that over the next few months...

Solo again...and a bit more excitement than I'd like!

A lot has happened since my last blog, but I've been too busy and lazy to write it up! There's too much to do in one post so I'll split it into a couple over the next few days.

I've been officially signed off to solo Charlie-Charlie for a while now, after completing the required time with Phil shortly after the last blog entry, and I've been making the most of my new-found cost-effective (ish) mode of transport.

The plan for my first solo in CC was to break the habit of my flying life so far and to actually fly somewhere for a reason rather than just for the hell of it: A trip up to Welshpool to meet up with some friends who live in the area. This sort of trip is perfect for flying - Welshpool is only about 55NM from Gloucester in the aircraft, so flights would be well under an hour from engine start to shut down, but driving would take at least two and a half hours each way, and probably more depending on traffic, and the distance driven would be almost twice that of the direct flight. I'd also flown up in that general direction before (to Sleap on my qualifying cross-country) and with the added assistance of GPS and the new nice, comfortable touring aircraft I wasn't anticipating too much stress en route, which should allow a nice day out once we arrived.

The weather and the view of Worcestershire en route to Welshpool...perfect!



On the day of the trip I woke up to perfect flying weather, great visibility and just a few clouds at 3000ft or above. I'd booked into Welshpool in advance, so all that was left to do was to get up, check the weather and NOTAMS, then drive up to the airfield to pick up CC, who (helpfully) had been left right at the front of the hangar by the previous user. Jen and I loaded up, and after a quick fuel-stop on the way out to the runway, we were up into the wide-blue and on our way.

Jen had been gradually getting used to flying, but because of the instructor time required for me to fly CC, she hadn't been up for over a month, but this was a good day to get back into it, with very little turbulence and just light winds. Once we crossed the Malverns I said my goodbyes to Gloucester and went off-radio for a bit; it was great to just fly with no chatter from the radio, and perfect conditions and scenery, until it was time to call up Welshpool for an overhead join.

The landing was a little bit cross-wind, but quite comfortable, and as soon as taxied in and shut down our friend, Chris, was waiting for us, so I showed him around the aircraft: It's fun showing non-flyers the pilot's 'office' and dispelling the myth that flying is a glamorous and high-tech activity by pointing out the 1970's switches and dials in the cockpit!

One of the only clouds in the sky on the way there.



We had a great day out around Shropshire, stopping at a pub for lunch in Shrewsbury. Sitting by the river in the beer garden (no beer for me, obviously!), knowing that CC was waiting back at Welshpool, and that we'd be flying, not driving, home was a bit strange, but something that I could get used to! Trips like this are the kind of thing I learned to fly for.

I should just leave this post there, as a perfect day, but the trip back was...eventful...and probably my most stressful flight so far.

We got back to the airfield, booked out, checked the aircraft and taxied out to the runway and did a normal takeoff, climbing out on our way home. About 5 miles south of Welshpool, and at about 2000ft, the low-voltage warning light comes on.

This my first ever technical problem in flight. I try not to flap too much, and be methodical. First things first - check all the gauges; oil temp and pressure OK (phew), fuel pressure OK, but alternator reads zero current. Alright that makes sense, and ties in with the low voltage warning light. A conversation with an instructor about the alternator system in PA28's comes into my head, apparently sometimes they trip a relay which can be set by turning them off and back on again. It works for a minute before the needle drops back to zero. Nope, it's definitely a real problem. I can't believe it, the first time out in CC and I've bloody broken it.

I don't want to get too far away from Welshpool in case this is just the start of a bigger problem, so I start a slow turn while I work out what to do. I call up Welshpool to explain the predicament and they ask if I want priority landing; my answer is no, not at the moment. They also say that there's no maintenance on site, but at first, and in a little bit of a panic I'll admit, I start heading back that way anyway. Jen's heard what's going on, and seen the warning lights, so I take take the opportunity to explain that losing an alternator doesn't mean we'll lose an engine, and that we're still perfectly safe.

At this point Phil's voice jumps into my head and I think a bit more clearly. He'd asked me about an alternator failure on my PPL skills test, and we'd later discussed what would happen if the battery ran out (you'd lose all electrical items, but not the engine or flight controls) and, crucially, how long the battery would probably last - and my planned time to Gloucester was less than this length of time. I've had a bit of time to think now, and the options are to either continue to Gloucester, or to return to a field with no maintenance, from which someone would have to fly back with a failed alternator (and less battery life because I'd use some of it for landing). The other gauges are showing no sign of problems, it looks like it's just an alternator issue, so I'm sure the safety of the flight is still intact. The weather is still good so my cockpit workload from navigation and general flying will be low. My choice is to go back to Gloucester, so I explain to Jen that I'm convinced there isn't a safety issue, and if we didn't fly it back with a broken alternator, someone else would just have to. It's not been an ideal day for allaying her discomfort with flying though!

The weather on the way back was still really good.

I call Welshpool to tell them of my intentions, and they kindly offer to call ahead to Gloucester to inform them of my ETA. After that I say my goodbyes and turn all non-essential electrical items off (radio, intercom etc.). I pre-select the Gloucester frequencies ready for when the time comes to reactivate the radio as there's not really anyone to speak to before then anyway, even if I wanted to. As it happens, there's a strong tailwind, and after only about 15 minutes its time to switch back on and call Gloucester. They're aware of my issue but I remind them anyway, just in case the radio dies while we're in the circuit, and the circuit is quiet enough to give me a direct join for runway 36.

As we descend on base leg, and the RPM drops below 2000, the low-voltage light flickers, then extinguishes. A quick check of the alternator gauge confirms it - we've got charge again. I make a pretty good landing then taxi back, and the alternator doesn't drop out throughout the whole process. I let CC idle for a bit before shut down, to restore a little extra charge to the battery. Once we've put CC back in the hangar, I call the senior members of the group (and the member who was to fly CC the next day) to inform them of the problem, and leave a note in the tech-log to explain. CC is booked in to maintenance the next day. On the way out I see Phil, and I'm pleased when he repeats, almost word for word, my reasoning for continuing to Gloucester. I made the right decision.

But what could I have done better? Well, to be honest I shouldn't have rushed into turning back to Welshpool, which probably wasted 5 or 6 minutes of useful battery life. I was flustered in the cockpit at a potential problem and didn't think through my options thoroughly enough. That said, I managed to identify the problem quickly and confirm that nothing else was going wrong, remembered my training and drills, and I made the correct decision in the end. I doubt this occurrence would have made a more experienced pilot break a sweat, but at this stage of my flying life, it was pretty stressful. It's all good experience though, I feel like I've been taught a very valuable lesson, and that I'll be better at dealing with any problems in the future. I learned about flying from that!