Saturday, April 24, 2010

Landaway to Goodwood

Well this is the year that I score a few numerical aviation milestones. OK, not much at all really, but I will be breaking the 500 hours total time mark and I aim to break the 100 airfields in my logbook. Currently I am on 483 hours and 92 airfields.

What is it with guys, the urge to collect, record and catalogue?
Anyway, as part of this effort, I have decided to ‘fill in’ on airfields that are relatively close and in many cases that I fly over heading to more distant destinations, but for some reason have never visited before. So this time it was Goodwood / Chichester. I always fly direct from Gloucester to GWC VOR on my way to France, so why no drop in there.

I was a little concerned to establish the state of the grass runways, but a few enquiries and a telephone call reassured me that it wasn’t boggy and it was really very smooth. The problem with the RV6 is that the spats are pretty tightly cowled and there is not a lot of clearance with the ground, so it wouldn’t take much to crunch them up and possibly at worst tip the machine onto it’s nose. The clincher was when they said they had a couple of RV’s based there and they were flying quite happily with spats on.

Saturday looked on the face of it to be an ideal day. I had checked the NOTAM’s of course and the weather was forecast to be sunny with minimal wind. So it was, but it was a sort of ‘high-pressure’ murky. I couldn’t see the Malverns from the end of my road (my personal ‘Malverns Test’), but the vis was OK, I could see that I was going to get a ‘goldfish bowl’ type view downwards until and unless I got on top of the haze layer.

Rob joined me for the trip and we pulled the plane out carefully past the Citation parked in the middle of the hangar, carefully getting the RV wing under the higher wing on the Citation.

We departed on runway 27 with a bit of a crosswind, then turned left onto track climbing to 3800’ as we crossed the Cotswold ridge. I contacted Brize Zone for a basic service as I was above their zone, but thought I had better speak to them anyway. Fairford was ‘cold’ (I already knew that) and South Cerney and Redlands Farm were meatbombing (as usual). So I routed close to Fairford overhead to avoid the parachuting. I was vaguely hoping for some sudden engine rough-running as it would be a hoot to do a PFL at Fairford, but no, not today!

Fairford in the murk

It was murky alright. Certainly VFR, just claggy. It would have been clear of the haze layer at probably 5500’ or so, but there was no point in that as I would start to hit Category A airspace and upset people, so I carried on at 3800’ for the 45 minute trip to Goodwood.

I do find grass airfields hard to spot, but as I have been over Goodwood so many time, I know where it is, even then, I was only certain I had it with 4 miles to run. I did a standard overhead join for the main runway, 14. There was only one other aircraft in the circuit as I lined up on final.

Overhead Goodwood

I deliberately wanted to land long partly to avoid any ruts just past the numbers where most aircraft would normally land and partly to avoid a long taxi on the runway to the clubhouse and parking at the far end of 14. I managed this and pulled off a nice landing (grass is flattering anyway of course). I trundled slowly to line 2 as requested and parked up.

It was warm, the sun was shining and there is nothing quite like a grass airfield on a day like this. A member of Flyer Forum suggested I dropped in on him in Hangar 8 and checked out the interesting aircraft. So I had a chat with someone in the hangar and looked over a lovely Harvard and a black Stearman.

A lovely Harvard trainer in Hangar 8

We wandered into the Aero Club and paid the somewhat hefty £17.50 landing fee. There is an excellent cafe and we ordered a couple of baguettes and drinks out on the patio overlooking the airfield watching interesting aircraft come and go in the sun – what a wonderful way of passing an hour or so as a Harvard, a Chipmunk and a Wilga all made their way skyward.

Welcome to Goodwood

Of course, Goodwood isn’t just an airfield, it is also a motor racing circuit, using the old peri-track around the airfield, so after we spotted a few cars bombing around the circuit, time for a look. On the way out of the aero club, we spotted a statue of one of the original characters of the airfield, none other than Douglas Bader, who took off from this airfield on his last mission of the war as he was shot down over France.

Douglas Bader statue

There was a fabulous line up of Ferrari’s as a string of Lotus 7’s came in from their timed lap. Just to wander around the Ferrari’s and hear them as they started up waqs such a treat. We wandered over to the stands and watched as Ferrari’s and Lotus 7’s set off one at a time for a timed lap, the noise was joyous!

Ferraris on a track day

This really is a ‘happening’ airfield with loads to see and do and I was starting to feel a little more charitable about the landing fee. But time to head back. A quick check of the plane as I watched another aircraft taxi out to the hold, it was not obvious where I was going to taxi, so I was relieved at watching a local do it and noting his track. I checked the airport charts as I know they have some interesting noise abatement procedures and I was keen to follow them so as not to upset the locals.

Start up and a slow taxi out to the hold for 14 and power checks. They were fine and I powered up with one stage of flaps trying to get off the ground as soon as practical to minimise any bumps or lumps I might encounter. We were up and once established in the climb, I pulled the first turn to the left to avoid Westhamphnett, then another to avoid another town as we climbed through the downwind, keeping a wary eye on another aircraft joining downwind, we were well ahead of him and climbed up past him keeping him off to the right.

I changed to Farnboro Radar and managed to get a word in edgeways, just. It was still hazy and to help with visibility, I continued my series of occasional but regular weaves to the left and right so I could get a good look forward for other aircraft and hopefully, they would spot my movement if coming straight for me.

Closing in on Popham, I just spotted a high wind aircraft passing probably 100’ below and maybe 200’ to my left, no need for avoiding action, but a bit close for comfort. At the same time, Farnboro called me a quickly reeled off a traffic warning – good job I wasn’t relying on Farnboro alone. I gave Farnboro a quick ‘Visual – Clear’ reply. I am certain the other aircraft didn’t spot me at all. He certainly wasn’t talking to Farnboro either.

We carried on and made contact with Brize as I approached the M4. Did my usual route close to Fairford and just over the Brize zone until past Cirencester, then picked up the Gloster ATIS. I said goodbye to Brize who were overloaded and contacted Gloster Approach. Approach and Tower were combined on one frequency, so he was really busy and earning his money. I got my call in and was offered a direct approach to runway 18. I accepted this and called at 5 miles, the again when established on left base. I called final and was cleared to land.

The approach was good, I was aiming to land long-ish again to minimise the time trundling to the end of the runway. There was some crosswind from the right, so I concentrated on right aileron and left rudder in the roundout, what I did do though was a novice error as 18 is so much narrower than the main runways, that the picture fooled me into thinking I was higher than I was and I touched long before I was expecting to. It was gentle stuff fortunately, and it wasn’t so much a bounce as the runway gently and paternally whispering to ‘Now I know you didn’t mean to touch then, do have another try, there’s a good fellow’ – so I did and made the stall warner holler before we touched properly in the correct attitude.

I taxied back and shut down and gently manoeuvred the plane past the Citation into it’s allotted space in the hangar, crouching in the corner like a poor relative at a society wedding with the swanky Citations and other rich boys toyz lording it over us.

Well, it was a really nice day and an excellent airfield, well worth a look and a return visit. Better visibility would have been nice and I can live without the occasional ‘close encounter’, but that’s flying I guess.

Next, who know, let’s try for another ‘first’ airfield – maybe Southampton, Bournemouth, Dunkerswell, Perranporth, Fowlmere etc.

Thursday, April 08, 2010

AVGAS Prices? JTFC!!!

Our aircraft runs on AVGAS like the vast majority of light aircraft around the world – OK there are a few AVTUR piston engines around and yes, I know about Rotax running on MOGAS, so you lot can suspend your smugness for a moment.

Gas prices go up and down right? Well, at least they have during the recent recession. Eighteen months ago, the price of oil peaked at a staggering $150 a barrel, so of course you'd expect the price of AVGAS to be hit to reflect this. Well, we are now told that oil is back up the dizzying heights of – wait for it - $85 a barrel, so of course the price of AVGAS is…….yes, higher than it was when oil was at $150 a barrel!!! Now I am no financial guru (although I do work in Financial services), but how the f*** do you square those numbers?

The current price of AVGAS at our home airfield of Gloucestershire (EGBJ) is now a gut-wrenching:

£1.72 a litre (including VAT). Holy f****** high AVGAS prices Batman!

Check this graph out!

EGBJ Avgas Prices

Gloucester have historically been one of the ‘good guys’, consistently in the cheapest third of airfields on the mainland UK. I don’t know if they still are, but it is hard to believe.

The oil companies have of course wittered on about ‘ah yes, but UK government duty has gone up by 6p a litre’ and ‘ah yes, but we have to buy oil in US Dollars and the Pounds is weak against the Dollar’, sure, but not by anywhere near that much – do the math!

So, what are we going to do about it in the UK? Precisely nothing! We’ll whinge and bitch about it, then shrug our collective shoulders and say ‘oh well’. Of course the UK version of AOPA is the same organisation as the US AOPA in name only and does little to nothing to lobby effectively, they merely take annual subscriptions. And of course politicians will gabble on about it being a ‘green tax’ – how much of the duty is spent on green issues? Nothing at all, the UK government just goes around buying new nuclear weapons systems at a time when the super-powers are reducing their arsenals and fighting overseas wars that have nothing to do with the UK.

OK a vaguely incoherent rant I know. It is really hard for me as a motorist to think that £1.20p a litre for MOGAS is a bargain, but compared to £1.72p a litre for AVGAS???

OK, you guys grinning like Cheshire cats running on AVTUR conversions or Rotax engines can now say ‘I told you so’. Now, where is that brochure on Rotax powered VLA’s and ‘experimentals’.

Oh, and the ‘JTFC’ reference? Well if you have watched the excellent satire film ‘Team America’ you will know what it means, it is a extremely rude and blasphemous exclaimation!

Sunday, April 04, 2010

Two year revalidation

JAA European licences are only valid for five years at a time. But within that, you also have to have to revakidate every two years, either by a full proficiency test or by flying at least twelve hours in the 12 months before the end of the two years, plus a further hours flight training with a JAA instructor.

I am due for my two years in mid-June this year, so thought I would get the hours flight with an instructor out of the way now. Well, I have a couple of hours with instructors already, but the key is that they were not JAA instructors (they were FAA), so I booked an hour with Phil Mathews, the CFI at my local Cotswold Aero Club.

Phil is a vastly experienced instructor although I think taciturn rather than garralous would be a better description of him. He doesn't say much, but when he does you had better listen, because it is worth hearing! He does not try to 'over-control' and is quite happy for you to make and then correct your own mistakes, but very little escapes his eagle eye! As such, I am very happy with this style of instruction.

While I was at the clubhouse waiting for the plane to return from an earlier sortie, Steve Noujaim walked in with his wife and was going to do a sortie in the lovely RV7 he will be using for the Cape Challenge, to try to beat Alex Henshaw's long standing round trip record to Cape Town and back in a small light aircraft.

Steve Noujaim and the lovely RV7 for the Cape Challenge

The plane itself has an avionics fit that would put a modern 737 to shame, large 'glass cockpit' monitors pretty much everywhere! Hen is due to try his record run in just under a month.

Well the plane had returned and Phil was ready so I gave the plane a quick check and we saddled up ready for my 'hour with an instructor'. I did the usual start-up and taxi checks and power check at the hold for runway 27. I was finished before the plane in front of me and called 'Ready for departure'. The tower checked with the aircraft in front who was still a couple of minutes from being ready, so we were cleared to taxi around them from behind and line up for departure on 27.

Our RGV6

I lined up and was cleared for take-off. I checked the windsock, slightly coming in from the right, then applied power smoothly and kept the plane firmly on the centreline with the usual deft footwork and slight into-wind aileron. The tail came up as I held her down to pick up speed, as despite the lioght fuel load, we were still heavy and at MAUW as neither of us are slender guys.

I climbed out to the west and levelled off at 2500'. Around May Hill, Phil asked me to do 360 degree steep turns to both the left and right, maintaining altitude. This I did as I really enjoy steep turns in the RV, it is such a joy!

This was followed by slow flight, maintain 80kts straight and level, then complete 360 degree turns in both directions maintaining altitude. I managed this but lost about 100' over both turns, a bit sloppy.

Then Phil pulled the power back, but not to idle and said that the throttle had become jammed in that position and that I could not alter the power, what would I do? This was a new one on me, but a good one. I experimented with the aircraft and realised that I could maintain altitude at a much reduced airspeed, so I said that I would make a precautionary forced landing and would try for Gloucester (as it was only some 20 miles away) keeping a wary eye on large fields en-route in case the engine decided to quit.

He then asked how I would land it given that I couldn't change the throttle. Clearly this was going to be a question of getting into the appropriate position near the airfield, then shut the engine down and do a glide landing. Yes, but how would I kill then eb=ngine he asked. I thought about it and said I would pull the mixture. This was obviously the correct answer rather than kill the mags as there was a better chance of restarting wth mixture if I found I needed a blip of power.

That over, we did a fly-past at Eastbach Farm strip in honour of a member who died in a recent microlight crash. Then onto another farm strip in the Forest of Dean which has a couple of short grass runways, far too short to safely land, but Phil was happy to pull the power and ask me to do a low approach and go-around on the 350m grass runway. I pulled a 'cloerleaf' turn and lined up on final. The altitude was good as I pulled on some flaps and got a nice glide approach angle and a good approach speed. At about 100', I carried out a go-around and climbed back to the west.

We headed back to Gloucester and I called over Cinderford after picking up the ATIS. Gloucester was very quiet and Phil wanted me to do a standard overhead join, so I asked for that. Back in the circuit, I was keen to make it a textbook approach and landing. The wind was veering a bit, generally down runway 27 though.

I flew a tigher base than usual to account for the 10-15kt wind. The approach was good until late final when I caught some chop and sink. I applied power to get the profile back and the had to quickly reduce it again as I came over the displaced threshold. I chopped the power and glided the roundout. Held off, and off, stall warner squealing, make it holler, pull back and back and touch - and stay touched, continuing to pull the stick until it was fully back. A bit of brake and yes, we make the first turnoff without a backtrack. We trundle in as I crane to see over the front (I can just about manage decent forward vision without having to weave).

Well, that;s the hour over as I put the plane away and go back to Cotswolds to do the paperwork with Phil.

A very nice flight and I particularly enjoyed the two PFL's, always good fun to see if you will get in. I just hope that if it does ever happen for real that I can remain as calm and do what I have been trained to do, I don't suppose you ever really know until it happens to you, I am of course blissfully happy never to actually find out!