RT test results.

In school, queueing for Chicen rice...suddenly my HP rang...Turned out to be darshan.

"Colin?"
"yeah Darshan, wad's up?"
"Its about your RT test...(Stern tone)"
*silence*
"uhh-yeah? how did i do?"
"Hrmm...Colin...your RT test results are in....(sterner tone)"
*silence..*
"Ok, You passed...80% Congratulations..."
"I did? oh okae...thx...Cya on Sat."
*hangs up*

"WHOO HOO!!!"

Well, I must be thankful that i passed tho...i didn't realli mug tt much for it hahaha. Loxo got 84% tho...cuz i didn't do one qns...o well....betta luck for me next time i hope.

CCTS 5 [Learning from mistakes]

Made abt 6 landings todae...Dammit man i get veri excited and jumpy when the plane goes damn near the ground....lolz so i always try to muscle the plane and thus i always balloon... Darshan onli showed me the right way at the end. He told me to RELAX...Okay...So i was relaxed and focused on a ref point. I did everything right the last time round...Take-off, downwind, RT, Final approach and Flare. Everything went damn smoothly. EXCEPT the last part. The touchdown...I was sooooo relaxed...and thus i wanted the plane to settle down itself...Nv pulled back and the plane bounced on touchdown...Whoops! After landing, Darshan looked at me and said "I said relax..but i didn't mean relax until liddat." I onli gave a sheepish grin in return. But the most impt thing is that I can do the landings liaoz. Next week, I must be able to do everything right. If can, I wld be able to solo maybe in the subsequent lesson.

Met Brandon and Zhi Cheng(Loxodon) at the club afterwards. Bran wanted to sign up for SYFC. So me and Loxo brought him there. Too bad, he nv bring his prelim results. So cannot sign up this week. So next week then...We had a pilots' day out. haha went to eat Jalan Kayu best roti prata and discuss abt out past sins and mistakes in flying. At least we hadn't made the cardinal sin of stalling on Final yet or running out of fuel. Then go Clementi and play pool. Bran and Loxo seemed to get along quite well. Cool... We went to play pool at clementi after that. I lost to Bran cuz i hit in the black ball. I won Loxo tho...pretty impressive considering i haven't played pool for a month and Loxo is a Pool shark. haha

2 hr 45 mins left to the bet. I haf a feeling tho that i wunt be able to make it. Cuz Darshan wld prolly wanna rehearse emergency procedures first. Oh well, there's still hope tho.

RT exam

Radio/Telephony Exam. I mugged a little(abt 1 hour) yesterday nite then go watch TV. So, can't say tt i was too prepared for this.

Met Chris(RSAF guy)at the burger king at Terminal 2. He was retaking Human Performance and Limitation for the 3rd time. Oh well, I hope i wunt haf to tho when its my turn to take. Made friends with a couple of YFC guys taking Meteorology too. Finally Zhi Cheng(Nickname: Loxo)came. We started to really discuss abt the qns tt may come out and Chris got kinda bothered hahaha...Damn stressed up that guy. I feel sorry for him...having to take the paper in a separate room. (his name wasn't in the sitting plan.)

I thought the exam wld be like sit-on-sofa-and-do types. NOT! I got the same freaking feeling i got during the O levels. Go exam classroom. Papers already neatly on my assigned table. Invigilator. Turns out that many Singapore Flying College students were there. They're training to become commercial pilots. Man their uniform looks veri smart. They're friendly and helpful too cuz one of them explained to me things and I was chewing a sweet thruout the paper courtesy of another guy.

Paper was not at all easy. Many qns very chim. But I think i should be able to pass la. 25 qns, left 1 blank, 3 not sure. Hope can pass tho.

After that, slack arh...Only went back to skool for ODAC and 1 GP lesson. hehehe...no time anywayz...reached skool onli at 1140. oh well.

Tmr must get landings right...I wanna solo soon.

CCTS 4

Today's flight was really short. 30 mins elapsed flying time with only 2 landings with 3 approaches.

First, I had to take off from runway 21 this time not 03 so i a bit blur abt where to go...Unfamiliar rather... Then, it was taking off downwind...very unorthodox procedure....dunno wad the ATC was playing at. Therefore, the takeoff took very long cause no upwind force to give more airspeed. Many many planes in circuits todae oso.

After turning final for runway 21...The atc said runway changing back to 03. So had to turn around for standard downwind. This i was familiar with...But i ballooned on the flare and rnd up...so had to go around...Whoops...pulled back too hard on the stick and flare too high... at least my ruddering was corrected liaoz.

The 2nd approach was ok...Only that i was so focused on the landing part i forgot abt RT...Forgot to radio back the clearance to land...shit..nv happened b4... But my landing was so-so...not tt hard but not too soft either...At least i did it myself. no assistance.

3rd approach ok...RT wuz ok .....but i flared too high ...i made a mistake by lookng at the runway instead of the horizon(Human instinct)so Darshan had to correct my speed b4 i stalled...but i tink i did the touchdown myself...abt same as my other landing todae.

Taxing back tt time...i request instructions and then the Ground radioed back to watch for a Learjet taxiing...i saw it liaoz it was infront of me...so i just acknowledged with a "Cleared 9-OQ" Darshan scolded me for not reading back the "Taxi behind Lear" Instructions. Plz lor...I know wad to do liaoz...and yet kena scolded...wth...Never mind... Lesson learnt: "Always read back instructions even tho they seem damn obvious."

Then after tt got ground school to prepare for my RT exam tmr. Ok lah...i got 92/100 for my mock paper. not too bad...but i was hoping for maybe 98....For the actual exam tho i need at least 70% to pass. Hoping for 100% tho.

I tot i had to walk my way out of seletar (4km) after missing the last bus. Lucky i managed to hitch a ride from a van. Nice people the 2 men on inside. Very friendly. Heng siaz...i got a lift to Yio Chu Kang MRT...Guess I can count on hitch-hiking next time i miss the bus ;)

An Airman's Grace

I found some realli great poetry about aviation and flight online. Some are really touching and well meaningful to say the least. So I might start putting up some poetry after every achievement I made in training. This is for my first unassisted landing.

AN AIRMAN GRACE

Lord of thunderhead and sky
Who place in man the will to fly
Who taught his hand speed, skill and grace
To soar beyond man's dwelling place
You shared with him the Eagle's view
The right to soar, as Eagles do
The right to call the clouds his home
And grateful, through your heavens roam
May all assembled here tonight
And all who love the thrill of flight
Recall with twofold gratitude
Your gift of Wings, Your gift of Food.

— Father John MacGillivary

CCTS 3

"Use your legs. Use the rudders to hold the plane Straight and Level..."
"Yeah..yeah I got it. Uh..we're low power up."
"Ok I leave it to you this time."
"Ok."
(Plane comes up on runway)
"Ok...Ok.....*grunt*...Yeah!!!..."
(plane touches down)
"Good try Mr Colin...Next time though let the plane sink first. But if you can keep this landing consistent you will have the standard."
"Ok...Thanks...I think i get it about the ruddering now."

That was my last landing. I made about 4 landings today excluding the demo by Darshan. The other 3 weren't very good...same problem about ruddering and i kept unconciously pushing the left rudder while descending so the plane kept drifting the left. But I finally got it right on the last one. It must have had to do with the fact i did a small prayer before taking off haha. I'll make it a habit.

Now I am a little more comfy with Radio communications. I can understand what is being said most of the time now. Depends on who is speaking actually. Like for example, There are abt 5 to 6 controllers in Seletar Tower. 1 is a female and the other 5 are males. I prefer the female controller best because she speaks very very clearly and you can understand what's being said without straining. A couple of the male are about the same also but the other 2 i have to strain to hear what they are saying. The older one especially speaks very fast and i have ask him to say again sometimes.

Well, I've got a bet that i will solo in 5 hours (4 now.) This would be the motivation I need to make consistent good landings on the next flight.

Here's an interesting quote i found online.

"Flying is the second greatest thrill known to man.... Landing is the first!"

How true...

CCTS 2

"Niner-Oscar-Quebec, Downwind for touch and go."
"9-OQ, your are number 3."
"Number 3... 9-OQ"
"Ok, number 1 on final, number 2 turning for base. Pre-landing checks."
(30 seconds later)
"Number 1 just took off...shit..i lost number 2...W-where'd he go?...No wait i see him. Ok turning for base."
"Ok Mr Colin...turn for final...you are high...reduce power...ok ok..now you are low..increase power..."
"Ok ok...here we go...I can make it...Power Off! Ok flare...shit...wind...Yeah...ok"
(plane touches down)
"Don't Push the control forward hold it as it is! You want the prop to hit the ground?"
"Uh..sorry..ok flaps up...here we go... here we go...yeaaaahh..!"
(Plane lifts off.)

Well, yeah that's one part of the conversation in the flight. While landing and taking off haha. Basically, today is a repeat of the previous lesson and it will keep going on until i'm proficient at landing enough for my solo.

Conditions today was so-so only. The sky was clear but then very windy. I did Circuits along with 3 other planes from the Singapore Flying College. They are Cessna 152s. They were like doing the same thing as i am...so well yeah...4 planes within 1 Nm flitting around in a circuit. So kinda brings back the NMAC memory for me. So i was like super alert, kept looking around for planes and i spotted most of the planes well b4 Darshan did haha. Got once we had to Go-Around and then this C152 was jus climbing from take-off i was like "He's on our blindside...Keep an eye on him Darshan..." hahaha. Well...This look-out thing is becoming a good habit ;).

Well...I'm still practising my landings and will be for a few more lessons. Still not able to rudder properly haha. So...I still got 4 more lessons (i give myself 3) to succeed to land proficiently and consistently. Oh yeah...I got my security pass haha no need to go show those police guys my IC and let them search me liaoz..:) and my headset works great too. Flying on Saturday at 12pm...yeah must get it right this time.

Oh and er... Its pretty exciting doing a 30-40 degree turn at 800 ft. Just like a roller coaster. yep... Not just the landing. haha

CCTS

Wheee...Practiced Circuits today, that is Take-offs and landings. hehehe...I was again pretty confident entering the plane, of course with resolutions in mind to keep alert and always lookout. I wasn't anymore affected than that by the incident last tues and that's the way it should be. I also feel more at home in the plane. YEAH!!! Sierra Hotel!

Take-off went smoothly...I did pretty good according to Darshan; managed to maintain heading and look-out. Then, at 500 ft turned for crosswind and then onto the downwind at 800 ft. Pretty good scenery of Seletar island and the HDB estates of Yio Chu Kang and Jln Kayu from 800 ft. The BKE is oso another good landmark to note where to turn.

The headwind was strong. About 17 knots headwind from 030. The plane got very bumpy descending at 60-70 kts. Sometimes have to increase n decrease power constantly to maintain descend rate. The flare and hold-off was the problem though. Wrestling the plane while low and slow is no easy task. Plus, the human nature wants me to control the plane using my hands on the yoke. But the proper way dictates that i use the rudders. So got problems la. But Darshan said every student has this prob and that subsequent lessons will rectify it. I think i did pretty ok tho. I even made most of the last landing tho it was a rather hard touchdown.

Circuits ain't easy. But its probably the more exciting part of the training, not to mention the most important. I was sweating through the first half-hour hahaha... Not so familiar with landing procedures yet then.

The good thing is, that i will be doing CCTS until i become proficient and then, it will be time for my 1st SOLO....woohooo!!!

I hadn't any idea that Juliet(the SFC adminstrator) was a SYFC graduate. She was wearing her YFC flight suit. Cool man...I might get myself one and sew the SFC insignia on hehe. She already got like more than 70 hrs liaoz...Man she must be really the best of the best in the YFC to graduate. (Bet i could be the in the best of the best too if given the chance at YFC). Anywayz, she was griping about parents asking her stupid stuff like "Is flying dangerous?" She wanted to roll her eyes and say "I'm still standing in front of you. Does this answer ur qns?!" hahaha i understand her feelings. If they think flying is dangerous... why drive a car?...more ppl die from car accidents than air crashes.

"Take-offs are Optional. Landings are Mandatory."

Reflections

I've been doing a lot of thinking ever since the landing yesterday. I kept on replaying the events of what happened yesterday, from the near miss to the part when landing when we nearly got hit by this bird. Come to think of it, its not my fault. I did everything right up to the point when tt Piper Warrior flashed past. That really screwed up my mind and the rest of the lesson went crappy. A good pilot wouldn't have been so affected. Now i know this. But at least i had maintained coherance and not become unglued. And...Darshan said i did ok. He wouldn't lie about such things and he did not seem too bothered by the near miss when i told him. If he doesn't think about it why should i dwell on it. Guess this is the meaning of the Phrase

"A good pilot plans his course, double checks, presses on and doesn't look back."

Lesson Learnt. Now my resolutions when flying.

1)Always keep a careful lookout. Sincere lookout and Scan.
2) Check instruments while keeping a careful lookout
3) Take initiative.

Well, Now i have to prepare for the R/T test on 27th Jan and then my next flt on Sat. I have to get back on. Many pilots have given up flying after meeting experiences like these. But I can't do that. I won't. The sooner i get back in the cockpit and into the air...The better it will be for me to put this experience behind.

Close Shave!!!

I really thank my lucky stars and God that i'm here to write this. Today suppose to do stalls then the Area Alfah crowded with like abt 4 YFC planes. That's a lot for a small basic training area. anywayz... We were doing stalls and stuff. Then sth happened... Darshan keep telling me to look out...Well...ok...so..i look left then centre then right. then this YFC plane crossed my vision. It had to be less than 25 metres away from my plane...I was like "WTF?!" Never felt so scared in the cockpit before... Seems the guy was just at our altitude and climbing from below... Wah Heng siaz...Thank God...Thank God... Thank you...

The thing was that me and Darshan never even saw that guy...Man that guy must be blind not to have seen us. Hope he gets grounded. They sae YFC ppl damn bo chup wan...Now i know the rumour is true...Well some of the YFC not all at least.

Then, when it came to the stalling part...I was already damn shook up...Just couldn't do it properly. But Darshan said i did ok tho... DUnno i felt my performance not up to standard...

The landing he did it this time... Cuz i think i was already damn green which is why Darshan handed me a puke bag...LOL...And there was this bird on the runway...Another close shave mind u. It only took off after we were so near it and it flew in front of the prop...Darshan seemed not to noticed then i shouted: " There's a ****** BIRD on the RUNWAY!!!! That was when the bird finally evaded us. Thank God for saving that bird's life (and the propellor)

Well, Every pilot will have at least 1 close shave... They will get it during the time they are overly-confident. I have to admit that i was very confident going into the flight. Well, I'm now in stage 2 which is the "Very careful stage"... So no more of these things shud happen to me. Unless I suay until like wad. But I believe and I pray to God that it wld not happen... And Thanks to RSAF pilot Chris...I dun think i'll be pining after the RSAF liaoz... With wad he sayz abt the chickenshit ways of the RSAF.... hahaha no thx...

"The trick is to fill up the bag of experience before emptying your bag of luck."

Well, the experience bag should be heavier now...Hope the luck one is still good to go. I still wld have to reach the 3rd stage which is the final stage for all pilots to reach in becoming a safe, competant and Good pilot.