The Easter long weekend gave me an opportunity to go flying in a Cessna 150, my C42 and a glider.
So it all started when I book a lesson in the C150 at Rutland flying school, I booked a lesson as I have not flown a GA for some months, while booking the lesson I mentioned if it would be possible to do a single loop or Barrel roll, just to see what it was like, alas the instructor doesn’t like doing aerobatics.
On the morning of my lesson, Good Friday, I got a text saying he had managed to book me in with an aerobatics instructor! The look of terror on face would have saved be from writing this blog if I had thought to have taken a photo!
I drove over to Chatteris and got the Microlight out and flow over to Shacklewell for the lesson. On the way over there was a large rain cloud duly washing Peterborough, so I went north and over towards Rutland Water, turning at Woolfox Lodge (disused), I had tried calling RAF Wittering a few times but they seemed to have had the day off to eat their Easter eggs.
I arrived a few minutes late, but immediately before the C150 I was to have my lesson in.
I preflight checked the Cessna using the check list and we taxied out and took off from runway 24, climbing up to around 3,500ft the instructor demonstrated a loop, immediately followed by a roll and stall turn, Help! I was feeling very hot and a little dizzy, he talked me through what he had done and asked “ready to see it again?”, my mouth answered before the brain had chance to say not really, and yes came out of my mouth. We did the same and I was not feeling good, I did like the moment of weightlessness at the top of the stall turn. So when it was my go I decided to just try the stall turn and I don’t remember to much about it, other than thinking, that’s it I’m done, get me down, which translated to me saying, “I’m not feeling great can we do a few circuits while I recover” and that is how we finished the lesson off.
I flew back to Chatteris still not feeling great which continued through the next day too.
Come Easter Monday I drove with some friends to Peterborough and Spalding Gliding club at Crowland Airfield ( www.psgc.co.uk ) and had a 38 min gliding experience. This was good fun and I can see why people enjoy it, although for me going around and round in tight circles riding the thermals ever higher, while watching out for other aircraft getting very close was a little less fun then flying from A to B and looking down at new places. If you want to try gliding this is a very friendly club and I would recommend them. As for the flying it was not that different, I just needed to use more rudder to coordinate the turns then I do in the C42.
All in all a good long weekend of flying was had and lessons learnt, keep the aircraft the right way up!
A loop,roll and stall turn might have been a bit much in the first session 🙂 I recently started some aero training and I found it quite tough on the internals. We took very small steps but after a few flights I was was beginning to laugh through aileron rolls. It’s worth having another go sometime. Some gliding is definitely on my list of things to do!!
Thanks for the comment, I may give it another in the summer, but as you suggest I will ensure we start with a singe move!
A loop,roll and stall turn might have been a bit much in the first session 🙂 I recently started some aero training and I found it quite tough on the internals. We took very small steps but after a few flights I was was beginning to laugh through aileron rolls. It’s worth having another go sometime. Some gliding is definitely on my list of things to do!!
Thanks for the comment, I may give it another in the summer, but as you suggest I will ensure we start with a singe move!