Today 1st December 2013 would have been a lovely day to have gone flying, just look at the blue skies in the photos! However I was visiting the flying club not to fly, but to take my meteorology (NPPL(M)) exam. Simon who was with me went flying, I remember thinking lucky guy to be flying on such a nice day.
I took my camera and my revision notes with me today, so I have some more nice pictures to share with you all (assuming someone is reading this and that I’m not just writing it for myself!!!).
So shortly after arriving Mark (Mike’s son and a fellow student) and Mike landed and it was soon time for Simon to have his lesson with Mike, before reaching for the skies Mike took Simon through the lesson they would be doing today, this was “straight and level” and “Stall awareness”. After the briefing Simon went out and checked the aeroplane over ready for flight and Mike turned his attention to me asking if I was ready for the exam, I hoped I was, but I was a lot less confident with this exam.
For the air law exam I had made around 4 pages of revision notes and a set of flash cards to teach me the signs, I will get around to writing these up in the hope they may help someone else at some point, however for this exam I had made 14 pages of notes and was still picking up things as I talked to Mike. Anyway Mike and Simon left and I went out to take a few pictures of them flying out.
I also took a few of the Parachute club people who operate out of Chatteris next to us. Katie and Pat went up in Pat’s C42 also. I was chatting to Andre and his friend about the exam. I had not met them before but like everyone at the club I have met thus far they seemed like nice people.
I sat down and read through my notes and suddenly found myself doubting my readiness for what many say is the hardest of the written exams.
It was not long before Pat and Katie were back and the kettle was on!
A little while later Alan arrived for his lesson with Katie, Alan’s wife bakes some exceedingly good cakes and pies and Alan is kind enough to share them with us. Alan also runs a website You Garden which you should check out for some good deals.
Katie started to brief Alan on his lesson, which today would be stalling and the recovery from stalls; this lesson when I did it reminded me a little of being on a roller-coaster just as you go over the top of a drop, luckily Alan commented that he liked roller-coasters! With Mike and Simon now back Katie and Alan took their turn to go up.
Mike asked me to explain a number of meteorology things which I did, some correctly and others not so well! Anyway I decided to give it a go. Unlike the first exam it consisted of 25 not 20 questions, it still has a pass mark of 70%. So name, date and signature on the paper, I was committed to taking the exam, this paper allows you an hour to complete it, but after 20 mins I was done. I spent another 10 mins looking over my answers, there was 4 I was not too sure on, but I decided not to change them, as it turned out I should have changed 3 of them! I came out of the office and told Mike I was done. I was very apprehensive this time as I was not sure if I had done enough. Mike marked the paper and much to my relief I passed with a reasonable mark, just 2% less then what I got on my last exam.
Like with the Air law exam I’m not going recount any of the questions, but I cannot remember any that are not directly or indirectly covered in the “Microlight Hand Book”.