From the Flightdeck – James McBride
Stable Approach From my position, sitting behind the two pilots making their approach to land, I could see that things were not going well. The B737 was well above the glideslope, not yet configured for the final descent and with way too much energy. The airspeed was eye-wateringly high and they were only just inside the limit speeds to deploy the flaps. Needless to say, as their instructor I was more than a little curious about how...
Notes from a small airfield, by Tad Higher
Sinking-in-the-Marsh Flying Club will be closed until further notice. But we are still here. So, how are you? Walter stood in his boxer shorts and greying T-shirt cleaning his teeth. He had four days of grey stumble on his chin. It was half-past twelve, and he and Quentin were both contemplating their first meal of the day. Having moved to the club, they had adapted well to Lockdown in Sinking-in- the-Marsh. Though smelling a little...
Unexpected problems for students
After you’ve been instructing for a while, it can become fairly routine for most of the time. You give pretty much the same briefings for each flight exercise, although you may adapt them a little to suit the individual student. And, especially in the early stages of flying training, teaching the actual exercises is fairly similar with every student. For each manoeuvre, you go over what to do, you demonstrate, then you let the student...
Sinking-in-the-Marsh is in lockdown. But first, how are you? – Tad Higher
That’s the question now, isn’t it? How are you doing? And it is a different question from before. What was a superficial greeting has become something more. Our language hasn’t changed, we have. So how are you? I suspect that we here are Lockdown Britain in miniature. We clap our health workers. It doesn’t make up for lousy pay and conditions, but they tell us it’s deeply appreciated. A lot of our pilots own small businesses. Some...
Instructor Notes – Helen Krasner
How to handle flight test nerves Aviation must have more practical tests than just about any other career there is. From PPL, through CPL, FI rating, IR; then there are type ratings, revalidations and renewals, check flights… The list is endless, and it doesn’t stop even when you qualify and get a job as a professional pilot. So, if you suffer from exam nerves, flying training can be very difficult. Written ground exams can also cause...
From the Flightdeck – James McBride
Carrier Landings – part I I was born too late. In fact, they said that about my father as well, so perhaps it runs in the family. For different reasons. In his case he had all the manners and gentility of an Edwardian Gentleman* – he even wore a cravat. Imagine that, a Cravat?! I mean back in the 1960s that was really something… I don’t know anyone else who wore a cravat in the 60s… well, apart from Mick Jagger, but I would...
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