Skip to content
Menu
Flying Gas
  • Home
  • Airport Map
    • Competition flying again
  • About
  • Contact
  • ZU-IBM
Flying Gas

Into the circuit

Posted on August 13, 2017June 17, 2018 by Mike Blackburn

Lesson 7

Date:- 11 August 2017

Aircraft: – ZS-CCT

Route: – FALA –– FALA

METAR: –METARMETAR FALA 111300Z VRB06KT CAVOK 23/M00 Q1027 NOSIG

Hours:- 1.6

Total Hours:- 11.3

Having got my stall/spin sign out last week it was time to get my circuit on. I was really looking forward to the new challenge and spent a lot of the week reading up on circuit technique. Unfortunately I also stumbled upon this Accident report which came up as the first link when I searched for SR20 circuit technique. It struck a little close to home – same aircraft type, same flight school and same airport as I’m using – it’s worth a read purely for the point of view of awareness and how things can go horribly wrong for even experienced aviators.

Here are my notes and plan for the circuit at FALA for the 07 right hand (yes, usually they should be left hand but FALA’s is right hand for 07 and left hand for 25) traffic pattern.
image
It looks like a lot of work – and it is. After a thorough briefing it was off to preflight the plane for this trip – which was the very lovely ZS-CCT – a relatively new Gen 3 Garmin Perspective equipped SR20. My previous flights have all been on the G2 Avidyne workhorses so this was a pleasant change – don’t get me wrong I really have a soft spot for the G2’s especially ZS-BOR. To all intents and purposes they are the same plane but the G3 stands a little taller, goes a little quicker and is a lot more slippery (wheel spats and some more streamlining), doesn’t have a rudder-aileron linkage (the G2 has a small amount of rudder movement with aileron input – just a little) and of course the fancy avionics. But to sit in the plane it feels very much the same and after the first turn in the taxi it felt completely normal. The best part is the Air-conditioning so you can actually do run-ups with the doors closed!

The A4 taxiway is still closed at FALA so short field departure for us again – which was somewhat pedestrian given the ISA+19 conditions – giving us a density altitude of 5900 feet. First circuit was for the instructor to fly to show me the ropes – well, that worked out fine until downwind when we got asked to orbit, and then orbit again, and again and then once more just for good luck – by this stage I was flying (hey, it’s always good to practice level turns!). Eventually we end up back on downwind, fly the base and then had to go around because the departing plane aborted takeoff…. There’s no bad experience.. (but you know it’s busy in the circuit when ATC apologizes for messing you around.

And so we went on – upwind, crosswind, downwind, base and finals – 7 circuits in all. Good fun. But hard work. It seems like only a few seconds from the after takeoff BUPMFF checks to the downwind BUMPFF checks, calling downwind, calling base and then the approaches – which if I say so myself were going really well.

Unfortunately it all tends to go a little pear shaped on roundout – I keep rounding out a little high and then coming down hard through ground effect. The instructor flew one of the landings and oh man, I was in awe of how smoothly she put the plane in ground effect and we just floated gently down. However, with 6-7 landings per hour in the circuit I suspect mine will improve in time.
11 aug circuits

More circuits next week. More Air-law studying this week – I’m told I must pass air law before I’ll be allowed to solo – I’m not ready to solo yet but give it a couple of hours and I will be….

The air law looks intimidating. But in practice it is pretty straightforward stuff – all relevant and interesting. The difficult part I suspect is going to remember all the validity times of the various documents, Medicals, licenses and so on – my feeling is that this is the sort of stuff that is a setter of multiple choice papers dream material… Ah well…

Flight training, Uncategorized

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Places I’ve Landed

blackburnmike

The @flyinglionsaerobaticteam departing FAGM for t The @flyinglionsaerobaticteam departing FAGM for the Stellenbosch Airshow this weekend. Sound up!!

#harvard #t6 #radials #rand #fagm #generalaviation
First aerie out of Rand this morning. sublime atmo First aerie out of Rand this morning. sublime atmosphere for some practice manoeuvres. #sling4 #sling #slingaircraft #zuibm #mikemoment #flying #morning #generalaviation #fagm #ppl

Nice to meet @groundeffectfilms finally too!
The Saint John’s College Big Band performing “ The Saint John’s College Big Band performing “Turn the Beat Around” featuring Scott Blackburn on bass and Thomas Kruger on Drums 

#bigband #saintjohnscollege
just some condensation and the rotation of the ear just some condensation and the rotation of the earth.
short field takeoff from Glenvista airfield. 135m short field takeoff from Glenvista airfield. 135m give or take a metre. yes, it’s not proper short field technique but given the guys refilling a crop duster behind me i thought it would be rude to not do a rolling takeoff. 

#sling4 #missdaisy #zuibm #flying #mikemoment #generalaviation #sling
anyone else do this? can never remember the altitu anyone else do this? can never remember the altitude of the landing field so i write it on the window in whiteboard marker. #tips #flying #zuibm #mikemoment #aviation #memory
oh hai guys! #harvards #formation #flyinglions #ra oh hai guys!
#harvards #formation #flyinglions #rand #fagm #flying #sling #zuibm
one town, two airfields. Any guesses which town? one town, two airfields. Any guesses which town? 

#sling #sling4 #zuibm #flying #generalaviation
something something a mile of runway …… DA of something something a mile of runway …… DA of 4500 feet and i was airborne by the end of the concrete. 
#glenside #drakensberg #sling #flying #aviation
lovely morning for it…. #parktowngirls #diving lovely morning for it…. #parktowngirls #diving
popped past Panorama today on my ‘dust off the s popped past Panorama today on my ‘dust off the skills’ flight. great toastie, nice grass runway… what’s not to like? love it when the weather and work gods get the alignment right…

 #sling #sling4 #zuibm #aviator #flying #saflyers #southafricanaviation #grassstripsaremorefun
everyone is doing it this week - thought it would everyone is doing it this week - thought it would be rude not to - The Vaal dam with many (4) sluice gates open. first time in this year that the weather and my schedule have coincided…. 

#flying #southafricanaviation #sling4 #slingaircraft #zuibm #mikemoment #missdaisy #vaaldam #flyingeyessa #flyingeyes
great end of year flight out to @bonabonagamelodge great end of year flight out to @bonabonagamelodge with @sjr.briggs today. fought the wind there but miraculously got the benefits on the way back. solid 152Kts over the ground at FL95. 

✈️
#aviation #sling4 #slingaircraft #missdaisy #zuibm #flying #flyrotax #rotax914
Now loading- last flight of 2021. #sling4 #slinga Now loading- last flight of 2021. 
#sling4 #slingaircraft #flyrotax #missdaisy #flying #generalaviation #randairport #fagm #flyingeyes
epic storm here last night - if i was flying and i epic storm here last night - if i was flying and i’d looked at this radar image i’d be somewhat upset. why is the wx radar service so poor??
#kasouga #storm #epicsky #cloudporn
#lestweforget🌹 #lestweforget🌹
First flight behind my @flyingeyessa Kestrels. ver First flight behind my @flyingeyessa Kestrels. very impressed. nice to have proper noise cancelling seals now. 
#sling4 #sling #slingaircraft #flying #joburg #southafricanaviation #zuibm #flyingeyes #generalaviation
Hangar 9 flyers outing to Zebula. #sling #flying # Hangar 9 flyers outing to Zebula. #sling #flying #sling4 #zebula #southafricanaviation #zuibm
Preflight…. spot the Rotax thing i do? #flyrotax Preflight…. spot the Rotax thing i do? #flyrotax #sling4 #fagm #zuibm #flying
trying to blend in at Lanseria. went to fly IF pra trying to blend in at Lanseria. went to fly IF practice with a mate in an SR22.. #sling #sling4 #flying #cirrus #sr22 #lanseria #fala #southafricanaviation #whyaretherunwayssowide
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Archives

  • July 2021 (1)
  • June 2021 (1)
  • April 2021 (1)
  • March 2021 (2)
  • February 2021 (1)
  • November 2020 (1)
  • September 2020 (3)
  • August 2020 (3)
  • July 2020 (2)
  • June 2020 (1)
  • February 2020 (2)
  • January 2020 (1)
  • December 2019 (2)
  • November 2019 (2)
  • October 2019 (1)
  • September 2019 (5)
  • August 2019 (3)
  • July 2019 (3)
  • June 2019 (2)
  • May 2019 (3)
  • April 2019 (2)
  • March 2019 (2)
  • February 2019 (1)
  • December 2018 (1)
  • November 2018 (2)
  • October 2018 (1)
  • July 2018 (3)
  • June 2018 (1)
  • May 2018 (2)
  • April 2018 (2)
  • March 2018 (1)
  • February 2018 (1)
  • January 2018 (2)
  • November 2017 (3)
  • October 2017 (1)
  • September 2017 (4)
  • August 2017 (3)
  • July 2017 (6)
  • June 2017 (4)
©2022 Flying Gas | Powered by WordPress & Superb Themes