Well I turned 60 last week, and a while back the kids said - keep October 5th free - we will have something organised for the day. First off they booked us into a motel for Friday and Saturday nights at Ngongataha right beside the lake. Saw the lovely sunrise as the sun passed through a small whispy flat cloud, ducks and swans, a little fog gave it an eerie still bright glow.
A car load of three arrived at 8:10am and gave us three envelopes. They left and said "this is your Amazing race" - get to the Rotorua Airport by 8:45 and open your first envelope up. The Google map they provided went back through town and arpound the south end - I knew that was too slow so we went north through Hamorana Springs and around that end of the Rotorua marathon track.
Got to the airport and decided not to go into the carpark but sit on white diagonal lines and open the envelope there - a certificate for a Trail Flight - so was this a scenic trip, we could see a Cessna parkled on an apron in front of a hangar behind us - close to the entrance, so we drove back and over there, parked on the grass away from the building - no carpark there! Inside and Pat Worsley approached me (no-one else there) and had a model plane in his hand.
"I'll have to brief you on the three axes of movement in a plane and the terminology first..." - puzzle - "is this a flying lesson?" I ask, still a bit puzzled... "Yes - I get you to fly the plane for half an hour..." he replied... Hmmm - things dawned on me a lot faster now!
OK, so this is a "Trial Flight" to tantalise me with a free flight and to gain some confidence... WOW! The kids have really surprised me and given me something I never would have planned for. So blown away...
We get out to the plane in the sunshine and walk around it and we discuss a few details - I guessed takeoff revs at 2600rpm, and cruise at 2200rpm - I had been flying with Andy my brother, probably 15-20 years ago in the Wairarapa as we flew out over the farm we had sold and out the southern Palliser coast and then back to Masterton. I remembered some of the details of the Lycoming engine performance.
Soon the cheeky nosey young brats had turned up and were laughing and cheering to see me so happy and enthralled with their gift!
After being strapped in, he got me to control the throttle and rudder pedals for steering and taxi over to a marshalling point - "C" for Charlie... as we sat there, altering the revs to 2000rpm, checking the magnetos (for the spark plugs, 2 per cylinder) have the same performance when turning one or other off - it drops 200rpm with only one on. Then received ATC permission to taxi out and take off to the south from midway. Put the revs up slowly to 2600rpm and we pick up speed down the runway, just resting my hands gently, you feel the plane go light and quiet and the ride becomes smoother, and hey presto - she's airborne all by itself - the trim tab on the elevators was set for "Take-off" and as your speed comes up, it naturally just wants to fly as the trim tab forces the elevator up - push the tail down and we start flying.
That was easier than I thought. We climb at 2600rpm - with the hand holding it in position hard against the stop - the dash, as we climb - I can't remember the airspeed, probably 75knots as we climb for four minutes at 500ft/min and get to 3000ft and then fly level to get towards Lake Rotoiti. Flying level the airspeed increases and we set the trim to a neutral balance on the stick. He shows me what happens when you only move the rudder in yaw - noisier and more vibrations, and yaw the other way - this time to the right and the left side of the plane - my side, gets the full blast of the air on the door etc and vibrates a lot more. We also discussed the slip and centre ball and what the rudder does to square the plane up when in a turn or against a cross wind.
Pulling the controls back, you could hear the engine slow up under load and the airpseed dropped to 65kts so we then pushed the controls forward and the revs picked up - like going down hill. Cool - easy! Then he had me turn to the left at a banking of 30deg - third mark on the instrument and kept the nose level and did the full circle, then we turned the other direction - he said - no instruments this time - and covered them with his hands - keep the nose level at a constant attitude and balance the ball too - so I just kept her in a nice tight turn - a bit steeper and tighter than the other one - Leanne was a bit nervous looking down the wing to the ground and farmland below... I possibly needed some more throttle to maintain altitude and airspeed but we had good elevation to start with.
Then he said - do you want to try a stall? I was ok at doing it but I knew Leanne would not enjoy it, so I apologised and used that as an excuse.... "No thanks, not today..." he winked and understood... - "Right," he said, "lets find the airport and head back". We had also already flown straight and level in several directions just to get the feel of flying level - the horizon above the dash, and keeping the same heading - without the compass, just using the eyes.
He also explained that to change altitude, they use the throttle, but to change direction and balance of the plane, use the other controls... the stick for elevation (pitch-attitude) and for rolling from side to side, and the rudder for balancing the attitude fore and aft. So it was now time to descend and drop the revs initially to 1500rpms, target the airport - he was already talking to the tower, and explained that they land on the grass runway to the left of the sealed runway, so I get it headed in teh right direction - no other planes around except for a commercial flight taxiing to the north end of the runway - our end we were approaching from. Anyway, he would be gone before we land. Setting the flaps down - count to four using thousands, twice, and view them out the side, not descending fast enough, lower the engine speed to a quiet 800rpm - just above idle... that's a faster rate of descent...
Carb heat on for next two minutes and contact the tower, yes approval to land on the grass strip... and we get close, and pat takes over the controls, me still feeling what was happening, a little side slip and rudder correction, still floating along - he has full command of the throttle, drops revs more allowing her to sink onto the grass, no bounce just a bit of noise and roughness and then the plane is cruising along on the grass and pat slows us up using the tops ofthe rudder pedals evenly as brakes on the wheels. I then direct us taxiing back to the hanger dodging a stormwater hollow and drain lid to the left of our path... - back to the hanger.
So wonderful!! I asked about the prices for further training, not to get a ppl ($16,000-18,000) but to get a little more confidence. $250 per hour with some bookwork training thrown in as well. And I might just take him up on that next month before I lose the enthusiasm!
Photos to come tonight...
The rest of the day was a trek to a falls, a snooze, and supposed to be Fairy Springs park, but we waited for the other three to arrive at a cafe, and then we went Mini-Putt, all 8 of us. Then a rest, shower, and off to the Lewishams restaurant by 6:30 for 22 of us!! A lovely meal too.
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April 24, 2012, 07:58:52 PM
