Week 52: Multi-engine operations = TwinStar time!!

I had another busy week, working through the remainder of the upset recovery flights before moving onto the IFR operations. The second two UPART flight were the more interesting, as they involved the Bulldog as well as upset under Instrument conditions. The Bulldog being able to withstand higher G forces means it's a more capable training device, but for our needs we operated between +3g and -1g. For a bit of fun at the end this also included aerobatics, allowing me to perform a barrel roll before completing the flight. As for UPART 3, we went through some of the previous techniques, but this time were wearing the hood to simulate instrument flight conditions. The risk here is following the 'startle factor' being unsure of what's happening as the brain gets confused, so the rule of always trust your instruments is more important than ever.

Onto the twin engine operations, and things start to get more interesting. We started with a simulator session, where my instructor Russ was pressing home the importance of learning and memorising the engine failure drill. This was a very new scenario, as an engine failing in any previous flights would inevitably lead to a forced landing as there would be no alternate power source to maintain forward speed. Now the aircraft is capable of flight with only half of it's available power, but initially after failures the pilots workload is high and requires the correct actions to be carried out as expeditiously as possible. 

Steph taking us down the approach for rwy08

After the simulator session and a radar vectored instrument approach, I finally got my chance to climb into the front seat of a DA42 TwinStar and work through the multi engine familiarisation flight. All I can say is the flight was awesome, the aircraft a pleasure to fly, and on a personal level I finally feel like I have crossed the bridge from light aircraft operations to commercial flight. The aircraft is heavier than anything else I have flown and consequently carries more inertia, but with increased inertia the aircraft is significantly more stable which makes it slightly easier to fly during instrument operations. I also had my first chance to fly a real ILS approach with visibility of less than 3km; as much as it was mid-morning and therefore relatively still, it was an awesome feeling to see the lead in lights looming out of the mist following the approach.

Unfortunately my second flight was cancel due to thunder activity close to the airfield, but on the upside I got to look around and inside one of the private jets CTC operate, a HS125. The aircraft cabin was very comfortable, but I personally found the flight deck quite cramped (not sure what my mouth's doing!). I probably had the seat in the wrong place, and having my jacket on didn't help, but from memory the flight deck of the A320 is very roomy and I can't wait to get there!