This time I opted for a Piper PA28 Warrior III. It had a low wing which I hoped would give me less of the hanging feeling I disliked the first time. It also had more space in the front, plus a pair of seats in the back. If I was to go on to get my pilot's license and fly my family around then this was more like the plane that I would fly rather than the 2-seat Cessna. Here's how it looks from the outside and in the cockpit...
I flew on a Sunday morning in early August. As it was a morning flight I had a carb-free breakfast so I didn't have to inject insulin, thereby ensuring my flying would be fully safe from a blood-sugar point of view.
The day was quite windy with winds at 17 kts. There were a few clouds at 2,500 ft and some scattered clouds at 3,000 ft. As I parked my car and walked to the terminal I was pleased it was blowy. If I was to conquer my nerves I might as well do it in more challenging conditions.
While I was waiting in reception of the flying school I could hear my instructor on the phone. After greeting me he told me that he had just spoken to people at the Goodwood Airfield and as their fuel was especially cheap we would be flying there so he could tank up for the rest of the day. Sounded good to me!
We walked to the aircraft that was parked on the Apron and got in. Again I took the left hand seat. The aircraft cockpit felt great - more width than the Cessna 152, plus an extra row of two seats behind. While the FI did the start-up procedure and listened to the ATIS I attached my GoPro camera to the window behind me. The large background image for this blog is a frame grab of me setting up the camera that day. I wasn't going to make the same mistake as last time - using someone else's side-mount on the front windscreen! I wanted it behind me, with a good angle, and me in view.
With the camera rolling the FI taxied us via taxiway Kilo but stopped a long way short of the tarmac Runway 20 which we used last time. Instead he did the run-up test then turned left on top grass Runway 25. We bounced along (seemed very WWII to me) and soon we were airborne. The FI took us up to 2,000 ft and gave me control. I flew around a bit to get the feel of the aircraft. She felt beautiful. I didn't have wet clammy palms. My grip on the controls was very light this time - something the FI said he had noticed. Flying westerly the FI took me through some exercises so I could learn how to trim the aircraft.
We ended up over the coast near East Wittering. I told the FI that as a child I had spent many, many, many weekends around Chichester harbour as my parents had a boat on Hayling Island when I was young. I asked if I could fly us up past West Wittering and into Chichester harbour and he was very happy for me to do that. Here's a brief video - hopefully you can see how relaxed I am...
As we got to the top of Chichester harbour the FI took control and speaking to Goodwood got approval for us to circle around and land - which he did beautifully on Runway 24. Goodwood has quite a few grass runways and no tarmac runways. Here's a chart of the airfield if you are interested in seeing all the technical detail...
We taxied over to the fuel station, shut down the aircraft, and the FI showed me how to self-fuel after applying a grounding wire for electrical safety. After 10 mins on the ground we were starting up the aircraft again, taxiing back to Runway 24, and taking off. For noise abatement purposes we turned right very soon after take-off to keep away from a nearby housing development. My nerves were not frazzled at all by this low maneuver.
After climbing back to 2,000 ft I took control again and flew NE for a while. Then the FI then showed me how to apply and release flaps step-by-step and how to re-trim the aircraft between each flap change. The trick is to turn the trim wheel in the direction you are applying pressure to fly level. I then did a lovely turn towards the south again and headed for the coast. Here's a short video of me changing flap (reaches forward to flap lever), re-trimming (shuffling of right shoulder as I turn the wheel), and the turn to the south...
I then flew us down the coast before the FI took over, spoke to Shoreham Airport, and brought us in for a lovely landing on grass Runway 25.
This was an amazing flight. I had zero nerves and felt in control the whole time. There was no sensation of hanging by a thread as I had felt in the Cessna on my first flight.
Totally bitten by the flying bug I decided to pay for this lesson by booking two further flying lessons at the same time to benefit from a three-flight special offer. I also got a log book and with the FI's help filled in my flight records to date. I have subsequently added a further flap-out page to record my blood sugar readings at various stages of flight. I hope this will help me show CAA officials when they inevitably check me one day that I am serious about safe flying and have good blood sugar awareness and control. Here's a snap of my log-book with extra Diabetic record-keeping flap. The columns read ">2 hours", "<30 minutes", "F1", "F2, "F3, "F4" (meaning while flying once an hour for up to 4 hours), and "Landing". The row heights match Pooley's popular log-book. If anyone want's a copy of the file to print yourself then please get in touch...
My thoughts now are fully on my medical. All pilots need one. Will my Diabetes prevent me getting the Class 2 Medical Certificate I need to go solo one day - hopefully this autumn? The flying school gave me the details of a local Medical Examiner for pilots, and I have been in touch to book an appointment. I need a completed CAA Ophthalmology Examination Report completed by my optician and specifically confirming my regular retinopathy scans look good (Type 1 Diabetes can be "bad" for the small blood vessels in your eyes if your blood is thick and sugary), and a letter from my Doctor covering how my Diabetes is being treated and the state of my Diabetic control. As I write this blog I have the optician bit done, I'm just waiting for the Doctor's letter ahead of my medical which is scheduled for a week's time. I'm 6 ft tall, weigh 13 stone, and run a 10k most weekends. I'm an engineer by trade so value the closed-loop nature of 6-monthly blood tests and the opportunity that brings to tweak my diet and exercise. This may sound odd but I think I'm generally healthier for having Type 1 Diabetes. However, there is perhaps a bit of concern about letting people with Type 1 Diabetes fly, at least for those signing-off their health. That may be me being paranoid. Fingers crossed it all comes together.
Here's a chart of our flight...
Weather...
- METAR EGKA 091050Z 24017KT 9999 FEW025 SCT030 20/15 Q1010
- At 10:50 GMT on 9th (August) wind 240 degrees at 17 kt, visibility 10+ km with few clouds at 2,500 ft and scattered clouds at 3,000 ft. Temp 20 degrees, dew point 15 degrees. Barometric pressure 1010 hPa.
Blood sugar readings...
> 2 hours before flight 6.7
< 30 mins before flight: 6.5
Landing: I didn't test before landing as I wasn't doing the flying for that part of the flight
Flying hours...
This flight: 1h 0m
Accumulated: 2h 0m
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