Our pilots were greeted with fantastic weather for our Pilot Proficiency Day last Sunday 5th August and members were presented with a fabulous lunch thanks to John & Leslie Marston.
Luke Paterson from Wardair covered the GA pilots in Cessna 172.
His report is below:
We were greeted by perfect flying conditions with clear skies and not a breath of wind. We dragged BAC out into the sun for a pre-flight and while it was a little chilly it certainly wasn’t uncomfortable. The wind did pickup a little later in the day but was good enough to remain straight down RWY 35.
Today we had the choice of practising stall recovery from both the developed and incipient stall, or circuits. Most chose circuits.
The standard of flying today was excellent. All circuit procedures were followed and everyone was quite disciplined with their circuit height, radio calls, separation from other aircraft and approach procedures.
We even had the opportunity to mix things up a bit with some flapless and short field approaches. One lucky pilot even had the pleasure of an instructor-induced circuit emergency. It was a perfect glide approach!
A couple of salient points to remember when flying circuits.
Firstly, climbing turns should be shallow turns of no more than Rate 1. At 75 knots that’s about 15 degrees angle of bank. Remember that turning increases the stall speed and the steeper the turn the greater the increase. The aircraft is low and slow and it is no place for an unplanned stall recovery.
Use the radio to build your situational awareness of other aircraft, and to let them know where you are. If you’re unsure of the location or intentions of another aircraft, don’t be afraid to ask.
Lastly, if you find that you’ve rounded out too high, don’t be tempted to flare from that position. Either go around, or hold the attitude at straight and level until you’ve descended to the right height for the flare. Flaring too high risks stalling on to the runway.
Great flying today from BAC pilots. A real pleasure to be involved.
Matt Thomas from Central West Flying did the rounds in the Super-Bristell for an exercise of choice. Pictured below are some of the RA pilots who took advantage of the day.
(Photo credits to Central West Flying)
