Week 31: Full power, RPM stable, here we go....

Finally, after being in New Zealand for a month, this week I got my first couple of flights in the Cessna 172. The weather did it's level best to stop me flying, and on Thursday my first scheduled flight was cancelled due to a South Pacific depression basically leaving the Waikato completely saturated. This however did offer the opportunity to go through a comprehensive brief on the cadet 'to-do' list before every flying detail, and as there was no pressure to prep before a certain time we were able to go into plenty of detail. 

So what needs to be done prior to flight? The below list is really only the items carried out at the airfield and by no means exhaustive, but there is a requirement for the cadet to arrive briefed on the details of the flight so they have a fair idea what to exist. This is done by going through the training manual and reading up on the specifics of the detail, so there are no surprises during the instructor brief. On arrival at the airport:-

• Aircraft Inspection- general condition, oil level, fuel level, acceptable hours before next service
• Mass and Balance- Calculate the position of the centre of gravity for take off and landing based on crew/passenger mass, fuel on board. 
• Performance- Distances required for take off and landing based on weather conditions, surface, and aircraft weight. Is the runway long enough?!
• Meteorology- What are the weather conditions now, during the flight, and what are they expected to do. Will the flight remain legal if the worst case scenario develops? Do we need to change the plan?
• Briefing- Final opportunity to discuss with your instructor whats going to happen during the flight, what areas potentially need to be concentrated on, and what are the potential threats to be managed?

After my cancellation on Thursday I was rescheduled on Friday, and thankfully the weather broke long enough for my primary instructor Scott and I to jump in and clatter off into the big blue yonder. Regardless of my previous flying experience, my eyes were immediately opened to the CTC way of doing things, as well as the concept of multi-crew briefings. Up to now I have been able to jump in, start up, taxi out and get airborne. Now however there is a need to brief the departure (what are we doing after the wheels leave the tarmac), brief the taxi (how do we get to the end of the runway), brief the take off (points of interest like a cross wind, what to do in case of emergencies), and finally brief the arrival (how do we get ourselves into the pattern). 

I also got to fly on Saturday, and given the way my first flight had gone we were able to spend 20 minutes in the circuit, allowing me the opportunity to get to grips with the Cessna approach/landing slightly ahead of schedule. As a training base Hamilton can at times be very busy, and chatter on the radio needs to be kept as concise as possible. Thankfully spending a few years as a controller meant I was fairly confident when it came to the radio, but I can see how daunting it could be to a complete ab-initio. The only advice I can give is have a good think what you want to say before pressing the button, and if you're really nervous write down the bits you want to say so you have something to read off. Hopefully next week I get a few more flights, but i'm sure the weather's going to do its best to prevent that!