My Flying

What a day! Really enjoyed it! By the time everyone had arrived and the equipment was ready it was 12 noon and the wind was blowing. It was averaging 30km/h and gusting to 40km/h at ground level.

The first two flights went off very well. Good launches and I planned the circuits and executed the landings with zero input from the instructor. I was very happy with my performance especially considering the conditions. I quit out of the first launch at 1100 feet as the winch was pulling us too fast. The instructor F(6) was not happy with this, but I'm fine with that; under the circumstances I think my actions were reasonable and were based on what previous instructors had shown me. The day's launch heights averaged 1300 feet.

Later in the day I had my third flight, by then the wind had picked up to 45km/h gusting to 55km/h. The flight was pretty amazing and it's the first time I've really flown in such conditions. The wind at 1000 feet was definitely even stronger and it was a bit bumpy, but I managed to find enough lift to keep us up for 17 minutes, the longest flight of the day by far for all that flew.

I didn't venture far from the airfield and it was pretty scary just how quickly the wind pushed us relative to the ground. If I started orbiting over the winch, after three orbits I would be over the launch point. The last landing was a bit of a mess though and this spoilt my otherwise great day. The wind gradient caught me napping and the speed dropped to 80 km/h while we were still a good 5 metres up.

A very good day in my books, lots of windy condition practice and three flights totalling 32 minutes for ZAR162,60.

METAR (Actual)
FAPE 040600Z 24017KT 7000 -RA BKN009 BKN050 16/15 Q1010 NOSIG=

FC TAF - 6/9 hours
FAPE 040600Z 040718 24020G35KT 8000 -RA BKN012 BKN050 INTER 0718 4000 SHRA BKN008 BKN020 BECMG 1618 19015KT TX19/12ZTN17/18Z=

Not fair, at this rate I'm never going solo.

Frustration is starting to set in! Last week I was so close to solo. During the week I spoke to the instructor and he said that there were just a few things that needed sorting out and it shouldn't take more than two or three flights.

But with the gliding instruction system the way it is, this week I have an instructor F(4) who has no idea of what happened the previous week. So I have two short circuits and he nit picks about a few small things and that's it. The rest of the day I spend helping the others out.

No hint or clue as to what I must actually sort out to go solo and even worse no: "you will not get out this plane until you have it right". I think my two flights went very well. The takeoff from 26L was very good, as so was the circuit planning, hold off and landing. All this in a 25 km/h slightly cross wind. I was very happy with myself.

On reflecting about this for some time I have come to conclude that our club has two groups of instructors. The first group actually want to see you progress and help you out in this regard, the second group shows up for duty, you fly with them and they leave. Both groups give you lots of information, but the second group takes no ownership towards your advancement. Two circuits, 9 minutes = 86,20ZAR.

I came so close to being sent solo today I could almost feel it. It was the things the instructor F(3) was saying and his overall mood. Problem is, it just wasn't meant to be. A set of circumstances lead to me really not being in the right frame of mind and my flying suffered accordingly.

It started with a really bad night's sleep, thanks to the neighbour's party that carried on until 3:30 this morning. I then missed my morning run due to me "sleeping" late. Then while on winch duty I decided to check my email. A bad habit I have when I'm bored. A business deal fell through, not an important one, but one I'd been working very hard at.

Furthermore, the pilot who was involved in the serious accident on 14 January this year also visited the airfield with his doctor. It was very sad to see, physically he is in a good condition, but he took a bad knock to the head and his memory is totally gone. So sad. They showed him the wreck of his aircraft in an attempt to jolt his memory back.

So I fly, good launch. Thermal for 20 minutes in 1 to 2 m/s thermals to 3000 feet. Thermalling both left and right. Instructor takes me trough some incipient spins, stalls and steep turns. Good circuit, but flare a bit high. Back on the ground in 29 minutes and he's pretty happy.

Then just before my surprise second flight the phones rings. The wife is in tears. Some f#cker tried to break in while she was at home. Fortunately he didn't manage to get into the house. So now I'm even more rattled. Take-off was messy, messed up the approach, but the flare was good. I could see he wanted to send me on my way, but not just then; I was heading for home.

A real pity. But I didn't feel ready anyways, especially today. Two flights totalling 32 minutes at 92,60ZAR.