Solo Preparation

Today I wanted to tidy up a few little things, but the wind was (once again) being fickle.  I was umming and aaahing over whether it would be worthwhile going up in these moderately gusty conditions.  I didn't want to go up if I was just going to have to wrangle the aircraft the whole time, when Manny said, "Jump in, let's go for one circuit - I'll show you what you're up against today."

It turned out to be flyable, but fatiguing because the aircraft wanted to go every which way all the time!  So I decided to give it a miss for the moment, and discuss some concepts regarding engine failures at cruise.

I chatted to some people that were hanging around the hanger, and the wind seemed to be dying down.  A quick check of AWIS showed it was - from 16 knots right down to 12 knots.  Perfect - just what I need.

I jumped in the Jabiru and headed out to the training area to practice my steep turns.  Got a few out - some good, some a little wonky, but much more consistent by the end.  Then it was time to practice some simulated forced landings without power.  I had to get the immediate actions clear in my head so the other parts of the manoeuvre could flow.  Once I had them under control, I found that field selection and plan formulation was much quicker and easier.

There was quite a bit of smoke haze around from some burning off, so I decided to call it quits before I couldn't see the aerodrome any more.   Whilst heading inbound, I swung wide around to the North East and joined downwind from a forty-five degree angle for RWY 13 (the gravel/grass runway), something I hadn't done before.   I did a not too bad a landing, as well!

It's funny how a lot of people (especially those in the airline training academy that fly 172s) choose not to use the grass runway.  I suspect it might be a little beneath them to use a grass strip.  I actually quite like it as something different from the normal asphalt runways - I'm sure I won't have them everywhere I go in the future!

As I taxied back to the hanger, Manny was out the front.  He gave the signal to park out the front and kill the engine - then jumped in and said, "Do you have to go right away?  Because I feel like doing some crosswind circuits!"   With that, we headed out to runway 18 and he went through some circuits.  It was nice just being a passenger for once!  I even got to snap some photos.  It's the closest to sunset flight that I've ever had (apart from the big jets, but they don't count!), so it was lovely to see everything bathed in golden light and the long shadows creeping along the paddocks.  That's what flying is all about!!!