Stalls + Touch n Go

As I write this...my heart goes out to the victims of the Tsunamis... man it happend right after xmas too. Why? more than 80 000 ppl dead just like that. Why O Why? Only God knows why. But He has a plan.

Because of the Tsunamis, the weather these couple of days was crappy...I couldn't fly on Tuesday. Oh well i got to be thankful tho. Zhi Chen, a buddy of mine at SFC also could not fly for abt a week liaoz. Think he should fly today.

So... at first when I went to the club, thought could not fly...and it nearly came to pass... The clouds started to move in as we pre-flighted. I did the whole pre-flight this time :). Darshan gave me a choice: Either don't fly today, or go up and just fly around at low level to practice. I said go up and practice. We actually needed to go up to 3000 ft to do Stalls.

I did the take-off again...yeeehaa...! But when we reached circuit height, Darshan decided to bend the rules a little. We went up to 3000 ft and did stalling and slow flight. Man that was scary. The stall warning was screaming and then the plane dropped like a stone. When it was my turn tho i did the stall ok with one prob...I could not maintain heading...So have to practice more next week.

Then, the fun part. Touch n Gos. That was landing practice. Landing on the runway and taking-off. He did the demonstration and told me to do it. I bet my heart-rate had doubled that instant. So this conversation took place.

Me: "Er...I'll be honest, I'm kinda nervous."
Dar: "I should be the one to be nervous, My life is in your hands. But i'm not nervous."
Me: "Since when you did you have so much confidence in my ability? Thanks anyway!"
Dar "Turn for downwind, Just do your best."

My approach was ok, then the touch-down...I swear...My heart was really pounding and i was at 200% concentration. I did the touch-down ok but i kinda forgot to raise my the nose a bit more to relieve pressure on the nose wheel...so it started rumbling. Darshan was kinda peeved. Then the take-off went smoothly and went for another downwind to land. I was really wishing i had some beef jerky to chew then....Next time I will take at least one piece up to chew b4 landing.

Approach was fine. But, this time according to Darshan, i touched down on all 3 wheels...Ok, But the landing felt good to me....Then, same mistake, let the nose wheel down too fast. This time Darshan shouted: "Pull back on the *fucking* stick!"
Lol, i nv heard him cuss b4. But hey, he told me every student had done that. Oh well must rmb next time. Training means making mistakes and learning from them anyway.
Darshan told me that i was not supposed to do Circuit and Touch and Gos yet. Haha, Guess that means i'm doing well enough for him to allow me to land. :D
School gonna reopen le...Can only fly on Sats then....:(

Its my decision...[Merry xmas]

Cool! Christmas party at Carlton hotel. hahaha..i won a couple prizes by dancing and with hand coordiation and agility. hahaha...

Well, i had a long talk with Gary.(My cousin's husband) Seems he too wanted to be a pilot when he was younger and he could have been.(He has Perfect eyesight) He told me to think carefully as fighter pilots have a live-fast-short-career that most pilots retire at 44 unless they reach the rank of Colonel or above. That also all pilots including airline pilots have a career of 6 months at a time. Which means they have to have their medical and if there's a hitch or bug somewhere...they're grounded. So...he told me to think carefully as that's the reason he didn't go through to be a pilot.

Well, i have a lot more obstacles than he does. I got my eyesight to worry about. I have to find a way to somehow correct it before i go NS or i may lose the chance to be a fighter pilot. But what Gary says makes sense though. Not all jobs are fun. But he'd rather stability than fun. Agreed i share the same thoughts. But i thought a pilot's high pay would provide stability with a fun job. Guess i can't have the best of both worlds.

I really dunno... Family would mean more to me than career...I want my kids to grow up with a father who's always there for them...not just sometimes there or even not there at all... And my wife...man i'm thinking really far ahead.
But there's this RSAF pilot happily married with a child in my block... i think i'll look him up soon and have a chat with him.

But then, I've always wanted to be a pilot ever since i was young and ever since that USAF Thunderbird flashed by me less than 100 metres away when i was 6... And I'm well on my way to getting my PPL.. I am a pilot already in that sense. So i've achieved my dream of flying...But do i really want to be a career Fighter pilot?
And will i even be able correct my eyesight b4 NS?
I've got a year to think about that. Well, i trust God that i will make the right decision for myself and for my future and current family.

Did some more Descends today as well as revision of climbing. Man, i was really keen to make up for my performance in the last flight. So before the take-off i was pretty nervous... My knees were knocking when we were waiting for out turn to take-off. Dunno if Darshan noticed. But then, i made my first radio transmissions and i did the take-off today. I was 'Stone Cold' calm when doing those things...oh well, the mind is mysterious.

I gotta remember to coordinate my leg and hand movements. I keep pushing the rudder late and the plane's turn wasn't very smooth. I didn't repeat my mistakes from the last flight. Cool....but of course there were new mistakes like coordinating my turns. During the Pre-flight, I thought i had screwed the fuel cap tight already. But, somehow it popped out after we parked. Man, i was mortified. Lucky it nv pop out when we were flying or we would be in trouble. Darshan didn't seem too angry. Maybe it happened before. Well, IF it had popped put in flight... I'd have heard banging on the wings which i didn't hear...so whew...Next time, I'll screw it DOUBLY tight. Man, how in hell it popped loose i dunno...I thought it was tight already since i checked it. Oh well, next pre-flight i'll do an even better job.

I was pretty calm when flying i gotta admit. Even flew into a cloud...Man that was cool. It was a small cloud so i guess Darshan allowed it. Although today's flight can't beat my performance in the 2nd flight, Darshan said i did OK... I'm now 3 hours ahead of the syllabus. Next flight next tuesday...on SLow flight and Stalls...That ought to be fun.

Oh...I drove Dad's car for the first time...I did ok for the driving part...Er it was when he wanted me to stop on a grass patch when i put a slight dent in the car...Oops! Guess I'm Sierra Hotel in the air and not so on the ground.

For the mistakes i made...a quote from A-6 Pilot Jake Grafton

" Every pilot makes mistakes. Some you can correct and some you can't. You just can't make the mistake that'll kill you. That's where confidence comes in. You have to know you'll never make that fatal slip."

For me, Confidence and trust in God will do the trick.
That is me in the cockpit of the Cessna 172N

C and L

Oh boy... This flight didn't go so well. A combination of factors. I slept very late and was very sleepy during the flight. The wind was strong. The headphone i used sux, the transmission in the ICS very garbled. During the Pre-takeoff checks. I didn't pay attention to how much to pull back on the fuel mixture, and i pulled it back to ICO (Idle Cut-Off) thus the engine quit. I got it right the 2nd time tho. I did the take-off with Darshan's guidance today. Very fun. The climbing and descending part was ok except for one impt factor: I didn't pay attention to heading. The wind was strong and other P-factors made the plane turn without my knowing. Darshan pointed it out when we landed. A point to take note of. The approach landing was quite scary...Descending to abt 800 feet. I was muttering 'Too low. Oh God...Way too low.' Well, i gotta get used to it and i will. A few more flights should do it.

One more thing to remind myself. I will do things the way i did which is take initiative. I decided not to be a hot dog today and wait for instructions for Every single move i make and it sux... Next time i will do the flying as i see fit and will obey instructions when they are given...Not wait for them.

S and L

Straight and Level flight. That's wad we did today. Pretty good weather todae. This time the Pre-Flight only took abt 10-15 mins. Darshan checked the external already while i checked the internal of the plane. Well, Playing FS2004 helped in my sense of direction as i taixied to W3 taxiway without a hitch. We got delayed for take-off though. Some SYFC Piper Warrior doing Touch and Gos. When we finally took off... I managed to control my enthusiasm this time. I only gave a extra large grin as we lifted off. That grin turned to a frown soon though as from the corner of my eyes i saw a Piper Warrior about 400 metres to our 11 o clock. How he appeared there i dunno. But what i wanted to say was "Where the hell did that PW come from?!" But i said the correct thing. "Traffic at 11 o'clock!" Darshan immediately replied "Contact!" Then we continue straight and the PW banked left. It was thrilling really... I half wished that the PW was closer... that would be exciting...and dangerous...

Well, FS2004 helped too when its time for me to do my airwork. Straight and Level aint as easy as it sounds. I had to hold the plane real steady and have to keep compensating because of aerodynamic whatnots... I think i did ok for everything. I even got some 'Very Good' and "Good" out of Darshan. Well, during the climb and descend though i got a little excited. and i climbed rather steeply and descended at a slightly steep angle too. My impression of Darshan was that he was too serious a guy. He had a sense of humour alright. He told me my mistake and did it to show me the difference. THe prob was he magnified the 'mistake'. He took the plane into an extremely steep climb and dive. Must have been more than 2G and at least -0.5 G i felt. He had a real large smile on his face when he heard me grunting and yelling "OK!OK! I get it!" At one point when i was flying the plane he oso said "My life is in ur hands." My reply was a grin and "That's a nice thought." Although i wished i could have said "Really? Ok!" and then dive the plane. LOL Can't do that if i still want that PPL. haha. Guess he has a sense of humour after all.

One hitch with this flight was that we were delayed by the traffic around Seletar Airport. We had to do a holding pattern. I had control almost the whole time. Turn towards Causeway, turn towards Bukit Timah Hill. Basically turn and turn. Good practice on turnings tho. Then Darshan demonstrated Steep turns. Woohoo!!! That was fun. He kept asking whether i was alright or not cuz we experienced abt 2Gs then. But i told him i wuz enjoying it. When we finally managed to reenter the traffic pattern and land i was already damn exhausted. My fingers were really cramped up as I held the controls real tight lol. We landed and shut off abt 20-30 mins behind schedule. Well, extra flight time.

Next lesson will be Climbs andd Descends. Hope i can breeze thru it.

Grounded by weather

This is just my luck. I thought i wouldn't get to fly in the morn cuz it was overcast. Then, the weather cleared up...So Mom and Dad fetched me to the airport. It was still ok..the weather ...when i made my way to the Cessna 172N...Then..once we were thru the security check-point, it rained...it RAINED at that time...So Darshan said..no choice must cancel the flight...well..i guess all aviators must have gotten this feeling b4... Man it feels like being turned down for a date..... I felt real disappointed and angry...I was cursing the weather the whole way to Compass point for lunch. Oh well, gotta wait for Wed...Hope the weather will be fine....or i'll be royally pissed.

One gd thing tho...i got a new wallet to replace my 3 year old one.

First Flight.

Man...I wuz waiting for this day. In the morning Darshan called and said the security clearance did not come thru. I wuz sooo disappointed. Plus the weather was oso quite good. Then after Mom and Dad left, he called again. He said those CAAS guyz filed my clearance wrongly then they found it. Hahaha. Yesh i immediately called Mom and Dad to come back and fetch me to the Airport.

I waited there for abt 45 mins as i saw Darshan in the air with another student. I recognised the plane i will be flying 9V-BOQ. They circled the field like 3 times and then landed. I got to know the student pilot. She's called Elienna and her 1st language is French although she's from Angola. She's a rookie like me on her 4th flight.

When i finally made it to the plane with Darshan, we did a Pre-Flight. Check the wings in gd condition and check the fuel(That was real messy work). Then go and check the systems and controls. THat took abt 30 mins and then after that we were ready to taxi. He gave me control when taxiing and i found tt exciting enuff. Man its like driving. The take-off was pretty exciting too and i let out a "Waaaahhooooo!" on the ICS (Intercom). Dunno if Darshan was impressed with tt or not cuz he gave me a funny look. (Bet he was thinking 'Damned Hot Dogger')

Then came the fun part. Flying over Singapore. Real Bird's eye view over the zoo, the Bukit Timah Hill and the BKE, PIE and SLE and causeway. Man i felt damn good. I even got to handle the plane several times. Thought this was a familiarisation flight, I think i knew my stuff well enough to proceed on to more exercises. And we did. Effects of Controls and Further Effects of Controls. We did rolling, banking, yawing and pitching. Real uncomfy during pitching down when the Negative Gs hit u. I felt weightless...eveything in the body oso move up. I did well in almost everything except the flying steady part when powering up or down. Had some probs there...and Darshan got a little impatient...Hey can't blame him. I wuz the one that wanted to go fast. But i finally got it mastered in the end.:)

Then as we cut our engines to land. God...I got a sick feeling as the plane started sinking. I felt like a dog shitting razor blades when Darshan cut the speed even more...I asked why and he said "If we increase the throttles we'll nv be able to get down." meaning that the Cessna had a lot of lift. Ok...fine...i was scared over nth.
The landing was real smooth. Then i took over the controls and we taxied to parking. hehehe i wunt haf any probs in driving lessons if i can park this plane. He took over in the end tho to position better.

Being on the ground now, I feel unnatural. I wanna go back up there. Knowing tt i'll get to do this every week is a consolation tho. Now i haf to study.......Horizon parallel to dashboard....blah blah...

yesh...cca approved

Made a trip down to MOE todae...to negotiate and ask whether my training at SFC can be considered into my CCA in JC. Wahhoo...can...but muz haf a internal cca oso. ok...maybe tennis or table tennis... or maybe some slack club.

haha...so much time left that i went to seletar to see the travelling time. a Whopping 1 hr 30 mins from my home to tt place. I think i wuz cursing and swearing abt 1/4 of the journey cuz i missed the bus and the bus took so damn long to come. I oso got lost in West Camp. diaoz... Went to see planes take off then come back home....another veri long trip.

Tmr will be flying hopefully. Hope the security clearance come thru liaoz. And must hope the weather is fine. Pleeeeasssee nice clear blue skies tmr...........

Seletar Flying Club

YEAAAA!!! i finally gotten my SPL yesterday. The Instructor couldn't meet me yesterday cuz he wuz bz flying the whole day. Then again, this morning i learnt the planes were grounded yesterday as well as for todae cuz of weather. Well, I hope that wunt happen when its my schedule to fly.

Seletar Airport is real deep inside Seletar Base. Man i gotta take MRT to Yio Chu Kang then take 86 to outside the camp and then take 103W to the last stop. Man lot of time its gonna take. I had no idea the airport is so hectic. First thing i saw when i got out of the car was a Dash-8 taking off and a C-130 shutting down. Seletar Flying club was just beside the airport. Pretty small clubhouse though.

My instructor is Darshan Singh Gill. He is about 6 foot tall and has a slight tummy. :P My first impression of him was ok... Can see he is a pilot. But he's rather serious and all business. I woulda tot he would joke a little. Hell, he forgot to send in my security clearance. So he had to do it again and send it in. So i'll be grounded for a few more days. Hopefully by Friday i can fly.

I got the starter's kit without the headset. Dun need one. Can use the one in the aircraft itself. But the danger is ear infection. Haiz if i uncomfy then i get one.
2 textbooks on Radio-telephony and Flying Training by Trevor Thom. Gosh...Darshan outlined many chaps to study. Its like school reopening like tt. Except that i like this subject. Too bad Os or As dun haf flying as a sub. I'll prolly get A1.
Still, gotta pia...Tachonometre, Attitude indicator, Magneto, VSI, Emergencies..........................................

SPL ready!

Just got back from Japan today. Well...very good trip...saw many flyer's jacket there but they were too expensive.:( (Hey i already haf one anyway). After checking out, i ran all the way from the arrival hall to the Airworthiness office to find it...CLOSED. Well, then rush home after dinner to check the mail to see if my SPL application was approved. hehehe it was APPROVED and READY! I started yelling in joy...(Those in Pine Grove if u heard me...my apologies) I got my punishment for being a hot dogger [Overexcited and overeagar]. I forgot to take the mailbox key... Had to run down to get it b4 it was stolen.

Well, Yesh...Monday go pick up my SPL and apply to Seletar FC and I should start flying by Thursday.