Zak's take on real flight

[Zak33]

This is in no way positive OR negative....it is totally my own thought train. You're all in a for a rocky ride

First....Cranfield (right next door to TiG). In to meet the pilot, have a chat, and convince him I was up for finding out if Private Pilots License was for me.

1 hour booked......and a Cessna 150 (2 seats) booked.

Watch video, grasp a the basics, and a brief.

First thing to bemuse and confuse poor Zakky.....

Steer with your feet.......on the ground AND in the air. The rudder (pedals) also connect to the steering wheel at the front...so on the ground...push left to go left.....its not a case of getting 400 mph wind over the tail rudder....the wheel steers

Next......controls ...no thats a lie....next is the sheer SPACE.

There isn't any and here comes Zak#s first real statement of him putting across his own feelings....

"Its just like an old Triumph in 'ere"

Same bloody year, thats why.....its a 1970's plane. Harnesses? Yeah..right......one belt across lap. One dangling from roof, clips loosely into lap belt....doesn't tighten, cos I'm not 40 stone, and thats it! Basic little L shaped red leather seat, red carpets, under your legs cos the foot well is TINY.....and


and


AND

A F1 STEERING WHEEL! :gasp:

NO joystick.......cack......how the HELL am I gonna do this? And it DOESNT GO INTO THE FLOOR>.....it goes into the DASHBOARD..on a rod!

[Zak33]

Right....that is what it looks like, and I sat on the left.

On top of the "control thingys" under your thumb is a PUsh to Talk button for Air Traffic Control.....and voice comms are mightyl clever.....plug them in and dont worry about your sound card settings......and apparently, you dont get Disconected as often in these! Nice

Right....sensible mode back on.....its got a KEY like a suit case.....power switch (bottom left) ON, key in next to it....Choke out.....Turn key.....

Now....next weird thing.....THROTTLE. Its a plunger in the dash board!


Black nob, next to red nob, dead centre bottom.

Push in to go faster.....pull out to go slower.

Slightly obscured by the right control column , but just to the right of the Red nob is a little flick switch.

Its got 4 settings......you could sneeze and it would change positions.

It said nothing, no labels, no nothing.....but I'll tell you guys cos you wanna know.

Top...Normal
Next down...Combat
Next down...Take Off
Next Down...landing.

Yeah....well thats how THIS pilot sees them. And they are quiet too.....and no Luft W sirens either

OK.....he did his pre combat check and I looked around, making sure we were in clear site of any vulchers .....the plunger/throttle went in....and he then said, "Take us off the grass, follow the yellow line and we'll go wait"

No sooner had I realised he meant ME.....than we started moving and MA-Zak steered the wrong way entirely.

If you lot had been there.....you'd have expected nothing less

For some reason I wanted to push my LEFT foot down to go right.....like a tank. Fool. Its not a tank...you've NEVER flown a tank.......ever.....

Any way.....I sorted it, missed the innocent man in the yellow tabbard who was waving kindly and we moved off the grass.

"Which side of the line?"

Car driver......stands out a MILE huh?

"On the line, follow it, dead centre"

"Blimey"

[Moby-Dick]

sounds good mate - who did you fly with ?

[Zak33]

Now....to STOP a Cessna on the floor, you chop the throttle (oh cack, PULL to stop....that was close) and then discover that the Pedals you have your feet on have top bits and it you point your toes and push hard with them, you've got a Disk Brake on either side......and the pedals are sided

Now THAT I can sort....disk brakes....thank heavens for that......we taxi#d up to the bloke in front and I stopped, 30 degree angle, and realised I could see fine well straight ahead as this plane sits horizonally and this is NOT VEF in an I-16.

More blushes...but he doesn't see.

Bloke in front leaves....we taxi out to midle of runway, that looks HUGE......spin it straight......push the plunger home and off we go.....I steer the pedals, and off we lift.....just like that.......no fuss, no drama....and its...well....not very exciting to be honest...bit dull.

I rest my hands on the cotrol column to feel what he's doing and look across and he's doing nothing....at all......

he's not dead....we've not been straffed by an 11 year old on his brothers PC.....he's just looking around. So I do too.....lots of it..

Now its at this point I shall congratulate Mr Maddox.....and laugh on the face of Bill Gates.

I've now been air born for 10 minutes.....and blokey has said to me....twice...
"You do look around a lot for a new student.....most people have played Micro Soft Flight Sim SO MUCH they aint had a view and watch the controls all the time...but you're doing OK"

No sh1t Sherlock....anytime soon, I'm gonna get Boomed and Zoomed.....and in this slug I'm DEAD

No..you'l be proud to hear that Marlin boy Zak managed to avoid any reference at anytime.....to any PC. Ever.

What he WAS bemused by was the following.

Steer with your feet......and so I did.....No Aerelons....just rudder.

Push left foot forward.....horizon moves and just as plane starts yawing, (ie not rolling, not climbing.....rotating about a centre vertical axis) the OUTTER WING travels so much faster and the inner wing so much slower that the thing just rolls on its own.....quite quickly in comparison with my thoughts....and then with a push or pull INTO OR OUT OF the dash board (note again..its not a joystick and its not on the floor) to keep her level....round ya go....then opposite rudder to straighten.

To climb.....look up and all around, (hard in an over head wing) throttle to max....THATS IN...revs rise.....to 2400 (woohooo) nose gently up....achieve perfect climb rate.....about 80 mph .....(that might be wrong....mind's gone fuzzy) and once at desired altitude....level off power back in.....err..out!

Once thing through all this.......TRIM

I love trim......it makes ya feel like you have a bit more......knowledge..than punters normally do.....trim......sexy word huh?....trim.... Lovely.

Its a big WHEEL.....like a cog, and it sticks out of the centre of the dash at the bottom....you roll her up for forward trim...and back for down. Sorted......

Level off......trim.........climb.....trim.......dive (lets not get excited....not Dive really.....slither slowly down hill) trim....

Trim is nice.....trim

[MA_Moby]

Yes, the Cessna150/152 are bloody cramped. Anyone too big should seriously consider the Piper Warrior or Tomahawk. Less cramped - they also don't have the silly plunger things for throttle and mixture I've opted for the Cessna though - cheap and a nice instructor!

Steering on the ground takes a lot of getting used to. There is a slight delay so you have to plan ahead, otherwise you end up wandering all over that yellow line My instructor usually ends up saying things like, 'what are those things on either side of the plane?' Me, 'Erm wings'. Him, 'Right, remember you have them, you just missed that helicopter.' In the Cessna 150 the nose wheel is castered so you steer by combined rudder with differential braking. On some planes however the nose wheel has a direct steering imput, which is better I think.

The yoke is fine once you get used to the idea of it. My only previous flying had been in a Chipmunk with a proper stick (lovely)! Getting over the urge to steer with the yoke when you're on the ground is the worst thing - it looks and feels too much like a steering wheel

Keep it coming Zak Where did you fly from?

[Zak33]

Gawd.....few people reading and I'm still typing

Race is on

Now I need MA_Moby to convince me of this Rudder steering now...because, I hated it

To steer in 3 dimensions to ME means to roll aircraft, and then adjust elevators....to pull back.....to turn.....

not to ponce about....and its this that leaves the only nasty taste in my mouth.

It's this bit that makes Zak realise that he's immensely proud to have done it...and very very pleased to have tried. BUT.....if he spends £4000 or £5000 to get a Private Pilots licence......whats he gonna do with it?

You cant RACE Cessna's.......you cant compete really.......you kind of.....take off....enjoy the scenery...and land. Its not the dosh.....I'll always spend the dosh....but you're not ALLOWED to do stuff thats.....scary.

Not for many many years. I'm not gonna be a stunt pilot....I've got a full time job and a healthy respect for gravity. I wont be able to RACE MY FRIENDS.......in one hour....I discovered something weird.

And that is purpose.....or lack of it.

I feel my heart is out there, on the sky....but I think I wanna be excited...and its not possible....to be excited in the way I wanna be excited.

I wanted it to be like.....skiing...like the challenge of slicing down a mountain, speeding and turning and panting and being... frankly....in charge of whether I hurt myself or not. You CANT do that in a plane.

To many people underneath.

[Zak33]

Yoke......right.....yoke.....

OK....to steer on the floor is ...weird. Hands in lap ...pick your nose.......brush your fobbish hair from your lobsided grinning face....whatever....

dont steer with it! Foolish Zak......foolish.

But I saw some great sites....Santa Pod......Millbrook test track....Milton Keynes Shopping centres.....Snow zone.....but oh what a WAIT.....1 hour lesson my butt....after a bloke had panned it on landing and the fire trucks had been out to check it was ok, we got...maybe......45 minutes...including....taxiing. I could have done it for several hours, but it would have still been.......


you're all gonna hate me for this....



slow and dull.

Its not that its not exciting....it IS. One big updraft and the left wing shot up......and that is the only time Aerelons (sp?) were used. Just once. Oooh....lie...a bit on landing...but no turns....and I did a few....probably ...10....none were with aerelons.

Another thought. I decided to ask blokey if we could go really really slowly....he looked OK and so we dropped some flaps......re trimmed.....and I tried to work out HOW you take a photo of an airbase when you get wobbled all over the place all the time.

And that is why I'd wanna fly.....for a challenge related to it....not just flying....but something on top of it.

Does thi smake sense.....? It feels like a directionless sport.

[Zak33]

Flew from Billins....Near Milton Keynes.....

http://www.billinsair.freeserve.co.uk/

And before Rias gets sad......I had a lovely time missus....and I;m eternally greatfull to you for sorting and booking it for me. I had to do it. You know that

Thanks honey

[Tumble]

that's where the super-navigation and fuel economising of a trans-atlantic flight come in.. knowing you've only got enough fuel to get there... without getting lost... that the sort of thing you're after mate? or do you want to be cutting the lawn as you strafe a convoy with BIG cannon....

[MA_Moby]

It's this bit that makes Zak realise that he's immensely proud to have done it...and very very pleased to have tried. BUT.....if he spends £4000 or £5000 to get a Private Pilots licence......whats he gonna do with it?

An aerobatics course!

That's my aim. To get competant with the aeros. I also want to try out as many old and escoteric planes as possible. First on the list being a taildragger conversion on the Tiger Moths at Cambridge Money allowing.

Touring sounds fun too. Especially in the US where the flying is cheap, the weather good, and the landscape outstanding.

I think it is an important question to ask though. I hear a lot of people quit once they get the licence, because they realise half the fun had been in the studying and learning.

But first I need to get competent at landing My landings provide all the excitement I need at the moment

I'm not convinced by the taxying steering either. I'd much rather twist my Logitech wingman

[Skii]

In all honesty the only flying I'd be interested in would be a microlight.

Something you can pack into your trailer, cheap to run and maintain, only needs a small field for takeoff and landing,

Definately the best flying experience I've ever had and one that I'd be the most keen to repeat.

[Zak33]

now THAT looks exciting

I think maybe.....maybe.....I need to do a Parachute jump

Rias has done a few.....she says they rock Maybe thats what I need. To be scared

[Nick]

That's the thing... cos it's so expensive, flying generally tends to be the hobby of the idle rich. They've got the time to fill with pottering around, not doing anything, just flying. There's a large proportion of people who are doing it as a career, BCPL, CPL etc, but many people DO drop out of it once they've got their license.... there's only so many overheads you can do to Silverstone, or trips to Le Touquet before you start to wonder what the point of it is.

Some people I knew did use it for business purposes, but by the time you've flown to the nearest airfield to where you have to get to, and then gotten a taxi to the place, it works out cheaper and less tiring to get the train.

That said, it IS fun... provided you have a goal to aim at.

[Tumble]

It'd be a total boon for someone like me tho... If I was comin down to see you guys for instance... take off from IOM.. £10 runway tax... maybe a tank of fuel... £80?? couple of hours in the air put down at a local airfield (gotta be one closer than Luton) and I get to drive myself I'd rather do that than pay the same money for someone else to muck me about, break my bags and generally annoy me...

[Zak33]

Its not a crushed dream......its not even a badly teinted dream. It was ace fun, and eye opening. I was in a dilema from half way in....Id been up for 20 minutes and I already felt the excitement of LEARNING and of correction and re application of inputs for errors....and no doubt it would be equally exciting for weeks and maybe months.

But WHEN......with one day off in the week and Sundays spent recovering from a week of work. Plus late nights with you guys.

Funny old world

[Zak33]

It'd be a total boon for someone like me tho... I'd rather do that than pay the same money for someone else to muck me about, break my bags and generally annoy me...

good point mate......only trouble is the local airfields dont allow Heinkels to land