Since I now own a share in an RV6 taildragger, I thought it would be a good idea to get the required ‘complexity’ sign-off for tailwheel aircraft! In summer 2006, I did about eight hours on a Piper Super Cub in the summer evenings after work at Sibson. I was getting close to sign-off, but had to drop the lessons when the clocks changed and my evening slot disappeared.
Now at least I have something of a head-start. My first lesson in the RV6 was ‘general handling’ including glide landings. That seemed to go pretty well and I was surprised at how slowly the RV6 could fly – it was quite happy at 70-80 knots and I was assured that I could easily fit into a busy circuit without chewing the tail off the guy in front all the time, even if it was a stately Cessna 152!
So Friday dawned and it was gusting badly – it had been howling a gale the previous night and had only died down a bit. More in hope and obligation I went to the airport. If it were a nosewheel aircraft, I am sure it would be bumpy, but it was quite flyable, but circuits in a taildragger? Roly confirmed my fears and said he probably wouldn’t go up in his own taildragger – the ground taxi would probably end up with the plane on its nose. So I re-booked for a spare slot for the next day.
Saturday was a lot better. Still a bit of wind and some gusts, but nothing like as bad. Roly confirmed that we would do circuits and I carefully checked the plane over – I am still not quite used to where everything is, so I am very much doing it ‘by the book’.
Booked out at Roly explained the importance of stick position for ground handling and taxi. It is SO different from a nosewheel aircraft where you pay scant attention to wind during taxi (OK, the odd into wind aileron if the crosswind is blowing a hooley, but that’s it really). No, the only time you can relax in a tailwheel is when the plane is parked up and tied down!
Roly explains that the easiest way to think about it is to ‘let the wind blow the stick’ – in other words, note where the wind is blowing from on the DI and as you taxi around, always have the stick at the opposite end. So if the wind is coming from 8 o’clock, have the stick at 2 o’clock. With these light aircraft, the worst thing you can do apparently (and I certainly believe it) is to let the wind lift the tail (or the wing or both) – instant tipped over aircraft with smashed prop and shock-loaded engine!
Anyway, I get the idea of this and we start the take-off run on 22. The wind is a sporting 12 kts gusting 25 kts. Full power, stick slightly forward and I pedal the rudders looking to the end of the runway to hold her straight. The tail comes up early. It is all happening so quickly, that I don’t have time to check RPM or airspeed (which isn’t easy on this RV6 as it has a digital display – analogue dials with green bands are a really good idea sometimes when you need a quick impression!). I gauge it by the engine note. The plane starts to float and before I know it, it tells me in no uncertain terms that it wants to fly and starts climbing like a homesick angel at 1500 fpm!
Roly is clearly entertained by this as he is an RV fan himself (group ownership of an RV4) and has seen these sort of reactions a few times before!
Around we go for the first circuit and the lady in the tower is clearly well aware of our aircraft type and that I am a ‘tailwheel tyro’ and give us careful wind readouts ‘Wind 210 at 12 knots GUSTING 25!’. Maybe I am reading things into her voice, but she sounded to me like she was vaguely disturbed that a tyro should be doing circuits in such gusty weather. I clumsily try to keep her down to 120kts on downwind (yes, I have a lot to learn!) and turn base and pull back the power ………and nothing happens! I mean the power comes back, but the plane doesn’t slow anywhere near the flaps arc. So I hold her level and wait, and still nothing. I pull the nose up a bit and as we climb (errrr – on base?) the speed bleeds off and I can get some flap in.
Fortunately, the wind is so strong and we are forced a bit wide by the plane in front, that I can fairly easily loose height. We come in at 70 (a bit faster than normal to allow for the gusts) and as I cut power and fly level, pedalling hard, eventually the plane ‘assumes the position’ and ‘sort of lands’. I felt Rolys guiding input a couple of times. A greaser it wasn’t, but at least I didn’t bounce it several times. Clean up while trying hard to hold it straight, apply power, more rudder, nose up, ruddert input again, aircraft gets floaty and lets me know its ready to fly. I am a bit slow to take the hint and stay in the ‘ground effect zone’ a little too long, so Roly pulls back and gets us up. He explains that you really don’t want to spend any time in that zone at all.
One down, and six more to go!
Cut a long story short, the next three are all with gusty winds, then on the last three, the wind drops like someone flipped a switch and becomes a relatively sedate 210/08 with no gusts to speak of. My landings improve accordingly.
I only bounced on one of the landings and that wasn’t too bad. I was getting tired and opted to make the seventh on to land. To my utter delight, the final full stop landing went really well and I concentrated hard to ‘pedal’ her steady as she slowed and kept a decent line. I taxied with the sort of concentration I haven’t used since I was a student or doing my IMC, determined to get the stick position right for the wind until we are parked up.
I shut down and we put her away as I am the only group member flying today.
Roly seemed pleased and I have to say so was I – not smug you understand, but tired and happy. I feel I took something in. I look forward to nailing the ‘wind straight down the runway’ landings then the dreaded crosswind ones to look forward to. Anyway, no hurry and one step at a time.
BUT WHAT A GREAT AIRPLANE THE RV IS!
There, I’ve said it! I know RV pilots used to get on my nerves going on about how great RV’s are and how much fun to fly etc. Now I know why - and of course it is now my sacred duty to get up other pilot’s noses about it – sorry!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
First training session in the RV6
I had a bit of a wallet-thinning weekend this weekend just gone. One day was aerobatics and the next was my first familiarisation and tailwheel training flight in the RV6 that I have just bought a share in. A 10:00 session this time with a new ‘weekend only’ instructor who has a share himself in an RV4.
I get there early and spend quite some time slowly doing the walkaround check. We share the hangar with some large Citation bizjets, with the RV6 tucked neatly into the corner. I get Roly to help me pull her out as it is a tight fit and I am a nervous wreck to make sure we come nowhere near the expensive bizjets.
We discuss the flight and agree to do some ground handling first, followed by a local with the ‘usual handling checks’ then one or maybe two landings – no circuit bashing straight away. Absolutely fine by me – I need to get used to where everything is first before circuit bashing.
Off we go and I get the tail up early. The RV6 is EXTREMELY sensitive in pitch – I mean ‘OH MY GOD’ sensitive! We seem to fly with the tail up for only a few moments before she gets bored and decides she wants to fly, whether I do or not! I ease her up into what for me would be a normal angle of climb, expecting to establish the 80kt climb, but the speed keeps building. Roly ‘encourages’ me to a steeper climb and before I know it we are in a steep angle of climb with the speed starting the bleed back to 80kts, the rate of climb indicator indicating 1500 fpm and nearly at 1000’ circuit height by the end of the runway! ‘CHRIST – THIS THING’S LIKE A BLOODY ROCKET’ I confide to a very amused looking Roly – I suspect he may have seen this sort of reaction before!
I struggle a bit to keep her level as the ‘picture’ is quite different. Once I do hold her, I trim her out at 2500’ and 145kts – the altitude is about all we can get today, the cloudbase is ill-defined and murky from 3000’ up.
We start the handling exercises as Roly asks me to slow to and maintain 75 kts and fly level all the time. I manage this reasonably. He points out how happy it is a such a modest speed and points out that I should have no problem keeping station in a circuit full of Cessna 152’s – no, I guess not!
Then we slow further to 65kts as Roly reduces the power to near-idle, pulls up to stay level as the speed reduces then puts in a right hand turn to simulate a base turn at too slow a speed. Sure enough, the RV goes into a stall and drops the left wing – not dramatically, but enough that you can’t hang around without putting in right rudder to stop it. The angle and airspeed are so crazy that it is unlikely that you can do this by mistake, but if you did, you might be ‘landing’ a lot sooner than you expected!
We wander over to the Malverns and Roly invites me to give her a few steep turns. My pleasure sir! I already knew about the very crisp roll rate from the trial flight with Manuel, so I hoik her over fairly hard into a 70 degree turn and hold her level with back pressure – no particular need for more power in this pocket rocket! Then again to the right. I just love those turns where you seem to ‘anchor’ the wingtip to a point on the ground and seem to pirouette around it – YEAH BABY!!!
Roly vectors me to closer to Ledbury (thinks – hmmm, Ledbury grass airstrip nearby…..) then yes, the power is pulled and it’s a Practice Forced Landing. I dither for a bit and miss the opportunity to convert the considerable speed into height. Not helped by me trying to get the wrong glide speed – I was aiming for 100, but it is 75! That corrected, I spot the strip and head for the correct end of it. As usual, I am way too high, so pull on full flaps. Still way too high and not likely to lose it, so I pull a couple of sideslips. It comes in pretty well. I am still a little high, but now at probably 100’ and very likely to ‘get in’ I get given the go around.
We climb back to 2500’ and head back for Gloucester. I pick up the ATIS and for fun set the GPS with ‘Direct to’ EGBJ. Although I know my way back to Gloucester, part of this is for me to get used to the different avionics, so I need to have a play with the Bendix King Skymap as I am used to Garmin 430’s.
I slow down a bit and start a cruise descent to 2000’. Gloucester give me a standard overhead join for 09 with left hand circuits. On the way back, Roly walks me through the landing speeds and technique.
The overhead join is uneventful and I cross the numbers at a reasonably slow ‘circuit speed’ at the required 1000’ QFE. The circuit is quiet except for a ‘Symphony’ completing an orbit at the end of the downwind (I idly wonder where Harmony, Melody and Rhapsody are in their swept forward Captain Scarlet interceptors – God! showing my age!). I can’t see him and TWR are about to give me an orbit. Then we spot him and call visual as I indicate that I can slot in behind him without an orbit.
This we do as I turn base, slow down more, check the white arc and deploy full flaps. I set up on final. Roly advises me to set up for 70, decaying to 65 ‘over the hedge’. This is a bit slower then Manuel flies, but Roly is insistent.
I am a bit off centreline and pull it back on. Speed good, approach good. Over the hedge, got 65, now fly level and try hard not to land, nose comes up, and up. Higher than the Robin, more like PA28 attitude and we touch – to my utter amazement we don’t bounce!
We start to slow, but here my inexperience shows as the nose starts to veer to the left and I am slow to correct, so I correct with right rudder and of course it swings the other way, so I correct with left rudder – well, you get the picture! Roly steps in (literally) and brings the oscillation under control. First major lesson (and one I DID know, but clearly forgot) – the landing on a tailwheel isn’t over until the plane is chocked and tied!! My bad nose-wheel habits or relaxing once it’s down coming back to bite me! A lesson well learned and no doubt one I will be repeating on occasion.
However, all in all a most enjoyable lesson.
I am happy with the aircraft handling in flight. I need more practice on the various bits of avionics until they become second nature, but that will come with time. What I need now (and am doubtless going to get in spades!) is some serious ground handling in windy conditions and TO and LDG practice including the dreaded crosswind landings.
This plane really is a ‘pocket rocket’ and is incredibly crisp and responsive on the controls. Now I can see why Vans aircraft attract such a loyal and near fanatical following.
I get there early and spend quite some time slowly doing the walkaround check. We share the hangar with some large Citation bizjets, with the RV6 tucked neatly into the corner. I get Roly to help me pull her out as it is a tight fit and I am a nervous wreck to make sure we come nowhere near the expensive bizjets.
We discuss the flight and agree to do some ground handling first, followed by a local with the ‘usual handling checks’ then one or maybe two landings – no circuit bashing straight away. Absolutely fine by me – I need to get used to where everything is first before circuit bashing.
Off we go and I get the tail up early. The RV6 is EXTREMELY sensitive in pitch – I mean ‘OH MY GOD’ sensitive! We seem to fly with the tail up for only a few moments before she gets bored and decides she wants to fly, whether I do or not! I ease her up into what for me would be a normal angle of climb, expecting to establish the 80kt climb, but the speed keeps building. Roly ‘encourages’ me to a steeper climb and before I know it we are in a steep angle of climb with the speed starting the bleed back to 80kts, the rate of climb indicator indicating 1500 fpm and nearly at 1000’ circuit height by the end of the runway! ‘CHRIST – THIS THING’S LIKE A BLOODY ROCKET’ I confide to a very amused looking Roly – I suspect he may have seen this sort of reaction before!
I struggle a bit to keep her level as the ‘picture’ is quite different. Once I do hold her, I trim her out at 2500’ and 145kts – the altitude is about all we can get today, the cloudbase is ill-defined and murky from 3000’ up.
We start the handling exercises as Roly asks me to slow to and maintain 75 kts and fly level all the time. I manage this reasonably. He points out how happy it is a such a modest speed and points out that I should have no problem keeping station in a circuit full of Cessna 152’s – no, I guess not!
Then we slow further to 65kts as Roly reduces the power to near-idle, pulls up to stay level as the speed reduces then puts in a right hand turn to simulate a base turn at too slow a speed. Sure enough, the RV goes into a stall and drops the left wing – not dramatically, but enough that you can’t hang around without putting in right rudder to stop it. The angle and airspeed are so crazy that it is unlikely that you can do this by mistake, but if you did, you might be ‘landing’ a lot sooner than you expected!
We wander over to the Malverns and Roly invites me to give her a few steep turns. My pleasure sir! I already knew about the very crisp roll rate from the trial flight with Manuel, so I hoik her over fairly hard into a 70 degree turn and hold her level with back pressure – no particular need for more power in this pocket rocket! Then again to the right. I just love those turns where you seem to ‘anchor’ the wingtip to a point on the ground and seem to pirouette around it – YEAH BABY!!!
Roly vectors me to closer to Ledbury (thinks – hmmm, Ledbury grass airstrip nearby…..) then yes, the power is pulled and it’s a Practice Forced Landing. I dither for a bit and miss the opportunity to convert the considerable speed into height. Not helped by me trying to get the wrong glide speed – I was aiming for 100, but it is 75! That corrected, I spot the strip and head for the correct end of it. As usual, I am way too high, so pull on full flaps. Still way too high and not likely to lose it, so I pull a couple of sideslips. It comes in pretty well. I am still a little high, but now at probably 100’ and very likely to ‘get in’ I get given the go around.
We climb back to 2500’ and head back for Gloucester. I pick up the ATIS and for fun set the GPS with ‘Direct to’ EGBJ. Although I know my way back to Gloucester, part of this is for me to get used to the different avionics, so I need to have a play with the Bendix King Skymap as I am used to Garmin 430’s.
I slow down a bit and start a cruise descent to 2000’. Gloucester give me a standard overhead join for 09 with left hand circuits. On the way back, Roly walks me through the landing speeds and technique.
The overhead join is uneventful and I cross the numbers at a reasonably slow ‘circuit speed’ at the required 1000’ QFE. The circuit is quiet except for a ‘Symphony’ completing an orbit at the end of the downwind (I idly wonder where Harmony, Melody and Rhapsody are in their swept forward Captain Scarlet interceptors – God! showing my age!). I can’t see him and TWR are about to give me an orbit. Then we spot him and call visual as I indicate that I can slot in behind him without an orbit.
This we do as I turn base, slow down more, check the white arc and deploy full flaps. I set up on final. Roly advises me to set up for 70, decaying to 65 ‘over the hedge’. This is a bit slower then Manuel flies, but Roly is insistent.
I am a bit off centreline and pull it back on. Speed good, approach good. Over the hedge, got 65, now fly level and try hard not to land, nose comes up, and up. Higher than the Robin, more like PA28 attitude and we touch – to my utter amazement we don’t bounce!
We start to slow, but here my inexperience shows as the nose starts to veer to the left and I am slow to correct, so I correct with right rudder and of course it swings the other way, so I correct with left rudder – well, you get the picture! Roly steps in (literally) and brings the oscillation under control. First major lesson (and one I DID know, but clearly forgot) – the landing on a tailwheel isn’t over until the plane is chocked and tied!! My bad nose-wheel habits or relaxing once it’s down coming back to bite me! A lesson well learned and no doubt one I will be repeating on occasion.
However, all in all a most enjoyable lesson.
I am happy with the aircraft handling in flight. I need more practice on the various bits of avionics until they become second nature, but that will come with time. What I need now (and am doubtless going to get in spades!) is some serious ground handling in windy conditions and TO and LDG practice including the dreaded crosswind landings.
This plane really is a ‘pocket rocket’ and is incredibly crisp and responsive on the controls. Now I can see why Vans aircraft attract such a loyal and near fanatical following.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Aerobatics and IMC - a heady mixture!
The forecast was bad. A real claggy, high pressure day with light winds, poor visibility and a low overcast. So I was a bit surprised to get a text message from Max to say we were on for aerobatics. My immediate thought was that he was in a parallel universe – it was 13:00 with the lesson due at 14:00, it was dark-ish and the clouds looked low and thick. However, he obviously had a plan, so off I went to the airfield.
I was greeted by Phil with an ‘I didn’t expect to see you here’ look. One mandatory Italian blend real coffee later and Max turns up, ‘The tops are at 3000’, so we should be fine’ he breezes as he walks on past headed for the phone to book out. ‘I’ll get the plane’ I call to the retreating figure.
Out in the hangar, the doors are closed and all the planes are tucked up – no one has been out today – I don’t blame them! I get Max and together we pull two planes out before we can get at our steed for the lesson.
I check it out and start up once Max is in. I get the ATIS and set the pressure – 1038 – wow! That’ll help with aircraft performance! The Tower is not busy and with minimal wind, they give us our choice of runways. We opt for 27 (being the nearest) so I do a slight cross-wind take off and climb away. At 1000’ we are in the clouds as I dust off my IMC rating and glue my eyes on the instruments. We continue climbing heading south-west for his favourite ‘bends in the river’.
At 2500’ the clouds lighten and we burst out into bright sunshine and limitless visibility now we are above the inversion. This is one of the real pleasures of IMC / IR flying – to be up there in beautiful sunshine feeling as though you are the only person there (quite probably we were!).
We switch to Filton Radar for service and set squawk to 2004 and do the HASELL checks. We are up at 4500’ on the QNH with the undercast at 2500 – 3000’, so plenty of room.
Rolls
We start with a couple of ballistic rolls as usual. Max is pleased with these, so starts me on more of an aileron roll, pushing on the stick from 90 to 270 degrees to ‘flatten out’ the bottom of the sacred circle. These go OK initially, then they even start going reasonably well. I seem to be better on rolls to the right then rolls to the left. I have to say I am now happy with these myself – far from expert, but OK.
Loops
The first one I don’t pull up hard enough and pay the price with a wobbly ‘float’ in the inverted. We get around, but it is scruffy. The rest of the loops are better, again not great, but OK. I need more polish and more fluid movements with the stick – I am a bit ‘military’ in my approach at the moment (anyone who has done drill will be familiar with ‘ONE – two / three – ONE – two / three – ONE etc.).
Stall Turns
OK, we get around, but still not great. I still need to work on the timing, but that is down to practice.
The session is drawing to a close, so we head back. Max wants to do the quicker ‘114’ NDB let down (if it were left to me I would have shot the full NDB / DME). So he calls the headings and altitude and I fly to these. We are in the soup at 2700’ and it is getting darker now. I concentrate on flying accurately and glue my eyes to the instruments. After several minutes following Max’s headings, we clear the overcast at about 700’ with the lights of the airfield ahead of us (the other massive plus of IMC / IR flying – breaking out of the overcast and saying to yourself – ‘Damn - this stuff really works!’.
Max demonstrates a low level ‘circle to land’ at 650’ on 09. He hands over on final for me to land. Again, though I say it myself, a reasonable landing.
Back in the clubhouse and starting to get dark now. I found that tiring, concentrating on aerobatics followed by more concentration on instruments. Max announces that he is happy for me to do solo aerobatics for five or six hours now to polish up what I have learned. He restricts me to Rolls and Loops (no stall turns). After five or six hours or sooner if I feel I have it ‘off pat’ (fat chance!), I should give him a shout and he will take me through more complex manoeuvres (like cubans etc.) that involve much higher entry speeds with the Robin and more complex use of throttle etc.
I am happy to accept and immediately book a lesson for 28th December. I warn Phil to top up the aircraft insurance beforehand! I float back to the car and somehow drive home without remembering the trip - feeling like a million dollars!
I was greeted by Phil with an ‘I didn’t expect to see you here’ look. One mandatory Italian blend real coffee later and Max turns up, ‘The tops are at 3000’, so we should be fine’ he breezes as he walks on past headed for the phone to book out. ‘I’ll get the plane’ I call to the retreating figure.
Out in the hangar, the doors are closed and all the planes are tucked up – no one has been out today – I don’t blame them! I get Max and together we pull two planes out before we can get at our steed for the lesson.
I check it out and start up once Max is in. I get the ATIS and set the pressure – 1038 – wow! That’ll help with aircraft performance! The Tower is not busy and with minimal wind, they give us our choice of runways. We opt for 27 (being the nearest) so I do a slight cross-wind take off and climb away. At 1000’ we are in the clouds as I dust off my IMC rating and glue my eyes on the instruments. We continue climbing heading south-west for his favourite ‘bends in the river’.
At 2500’ the clouds lighten and we burst out into bright sunshine and limitless visibility now we are above the inversion. This is one of the real pleasures of IMC / IR flying – to be up there in beautiful sunshine feeling as though you are the only person there (quite probably we were!).
We switch to Filton Radar for service and set squawk to 2004 and do the HASELL checks. We are up at 4500’ on the QNH with the undercast at 2500 – 3000’, so plenty of room.
Rolls
We start with a couple of ballistic rolls as usual. Max is pleased with these, so starts me on more of an aileron roll, pushing on the stick from 90 to 270 degrees to ‘flatten out’ the bottom of the sacred circle. These go OK initially, then they even start going reasonably well. I seem to be better on rolls to the right then rolls to the left. I have to say I am now happy with these myself – far from expert, but OK.
Loops
The first one I don’t pull up hard enough and pay the price with a wobbly ‘float’ in the inverted. We get around, but it is scruffy. The rest of the loops are better, again not great, but OK. I need more polish and more fluid movements with the stick – I am a bit ‘military’ in my approach at the moment (anyone who has done drill will be familiar with ‘ONE – two / three – ONE – two / three – ONE etc.).
Stall Turns
OK, we get around, but still not great. I still need to work on the timing, but that is down to practice.
The session is drawing to a close, so we head back. Max wants to do the quicker ‘114’ NDB let down (if it were left to me I would have shot the full NDB / DME). So he calls the headings and altitude and I fly to these. We are in the soup at 2700’ and it is getting darker now. I concentrate on flying accurately and glue my eyes to the instruments. After several minutes following Max’s headings, we clear the overcast at about 700’ with the lights of the airfield ahead of us (the other massive plus of IMC / IR flying – breaking out of the overcast and saying to yourself – ‘Damn - this stuff really works!’.
Max demonstrates a low level ‘circle to land’ at 650’ on 09. He hands over on final for me to land. Again, though I say it myself, a reasonable landing.
Back in the clubhouse and starting to get dark now. I found that tiring, concentrating on aerobatics followed by more concentration on instruments. Max announces that he is happy for me to do solo aerobatics for five or six hours now to polish up what I have learned. He restricts me to Rolls and Loops (no stall turns). After five or six hours or sooner if I feel I have it ‘off pat’ (fat chance!), I should give him a shout and he will take me through more complex manoeuvres (like cubans etc.) that involve much higher entry speeds with the Robin and more complex use of throttle etc.
I am happy to accept and immediately book a lesson for 28th December. I warn Phil to top up the aircraft insurance beforehand! I float back to the car and somehow drive home without remembering the trip - feeling like a million dollars!
Monday, December 10, 2007
Canadian Licence
One of the things I want to do in 2008 is a few days touring in Canada / USA in the summer with my buddy. I know I could get a temporary certificate based on my JAA PPL, but as I go to Canada reasonably regularly, it makes sense to get a normal, full Transport Canada PPL.
After asking around on Flyer Forum and with Rockcliffe Flying Club in Ottawa, the ‘easiest’ for me would be to get the Canadian licence based on my FAA licence. I must stress at this stage that my FAA licence is a truly ‘standalone’ licence (as opposed to an FAA licence ‘based on’ the JAA licence). This is important, as you can only get a Canadian licence based on a completely standalone FAA licence.
After an email that pointed me in the right direction from the helpful CFI at Rockcliffe, a bit of scouring on the net in the Transport Canada website, revealed that I needed the following:
• Current, standalone FAA licence
• Minimum 45 hours flight time
• TCCA Category 3 medical certificate (medical exam and certificate)
• Complete form 26-0702 (D610-01) and deliver it in person (book appointment) with originals of FAA licence and medical, proof of name age and citizenship and pilot logbook
• Take and pass an FAA to Canadian air law exam (25 questions) – at an approved Transport Canada office (i.e. not the flight school)
• Pay $CAN55
• Wait 90 days for Canadian licence.
WOW! And they said this was the easy route! I’d hate to see the hard way!
Now the complications!
I am overdue for a BFR for my FAA licence and I have only just bought into a new group flying the RV6 taildragger. I don’t have taildragger sign-off, so I will be in training for this for a good few weeks yet, and I will be in Canada trying to nail all of this down in early February. Do an FAA check ride in Canada? No. So I booked both an aircraft and a UK based FAA instructor from Oxford in early January – strange plane, strange airport, strange instructor – piece of cake!
Oh, and I need a Canadian medical so I can get the medical number. I will be trying to cram too much in to do this in one day in Ottawa, so I booked myself in for a Transport Canada registered Doctor in the UK, an hours drive away in Leamington just before Christmas – yet another medical, oh goodie!
I have booked a date and time with a suitable Transport Canada office near Ottawa international airport for both the submission of the papers and to take the air law exam while I am there in February. Hopefully, I can get this done in two hours and not waste too much time hanging around.
Still, it should be worth it as I can then hire and fly touring around Canada.
I don’t suppose for one second that flying licences will ever be like driving licences – international around the world? Notwithstanding that driving in different countries is harder than flying in different countries (different sides of the road, different road signs and road law etc.).
Naaaahhhhhh!
After asking around on Flyer Forum and with Rockcliffe Flying Club in Ottawa, the ‘easiest’ for me would be to get the Canadian licence based on my FAA licence. I must stress at this stage that my FAA licence is a truly ‘standalone’ licence (as opposed to an FAA licence ‘based on’ the JAA licence). This is important, as you can only get a Canadian licence based on a completely standalone FAA licence.
After an email that pointed me in the right direction from the helpful CFI at Rockcliffe, a bit of scouring on the net in the Transport Canada website, revealed that I needed the following:
• Current, standalone FAA licence
• Minimum 45 hours flight time
• TCCA Category 3 medical certificate (medical exam and certificate)
• Complete form 26-0702 (D610-01) and deliver it in person (book appointment) with originals of FAA licence and medical, proof of name age and citizenship and pilot logbook
• Take and pass an FAA to Canadian air law exam (25 questions) – at an approved Transport Canada office (i.e. not the flight school)
• Pay $CAN55
• Wait 90 days for Canadian licence.
WOW! And they said this was the easy route! I’d hate to see the hard way!
Now the complications!
I am overdue for a BFR for my FAA licence and I have only just bought into a new group flying the RV6 taildragger. I don’t have taildragger sign-off, so I will be in training for this for a good few weeks yet, and I will be in Canada trying to nail all of this down in early February. Do an FAA check ride in Canada? No. So I booked both an aircraft and a UK based FAA instructor from Oxford in early January – strange plane, strange airport, strange instructor – piece of cake!
Oh, and I need a Canadian medical so I can get the medical number. I will be trying to cram too much in to do this in one day in Ottawa, so I booked myself in for a Transport Canada registered Doctor in the UK, an hours drive away in Leamington just before Christmas – yet another medical, oh goodie!
I have booked a date and time with a suitable Transport Canada office near Ottawa international airport for both the submission of the papers and to take the air law exam while I am there in February. Hopefully, I can get this done in two hours and not waste too much time hanging around.
Still, it should be worth it as I can then hire and fly touring around Canada.
I don’t suppose for one second that flying licences will ever be like driving licences – international around the world? Notwithstanding that driving in different countries is harder than flying in different countries (different sides of the road, different road signs and road law etc.).
Naaaahhhhhh!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
