THURSDAY 10TH SEPTEMBER
Despite the somewhat gloomy weather forecast this morning started favourably for visual flying - cloudbase of 3500', variable 5kt wind and 20+ km visibility. Great! I had booked one of the club Robins(/Alphas) for a couple of hours to do some forced landing practice and perhaps some circuits if it wasn't too crowded (All good practice for the BFR).
So, off I drove to the club to find the plane I had booked still out somewhere but another Robin just back and ready to go. Instructor, Jason, gave me a bit of a briefing once he had learnt what I was going to do and said he would like to hear how I got on when I got back.
It looked quietish in the circuit (like, three on a first count) so I asked and was cleared for circuits first up (and then a Scott departure). After just on circuit, though, things started to get busier. The next circuit was right hand and there seemed to be a few planes heading back in so I wasn't terribly surprised when I was told to extend downwind and follow a couple of twins heading in. Good chance for a flapless approach, then. The tower then (on shortish final) asked if I would take a Scott departure straightaway and, being a nice sort, I said yes and headed out to the Eastern end of Scotsman valley for a bit of forced landing practice.
The only trouble doing this exercise solo is the rule about not going under 500'agl. This means that just as you establish final (or before if you are a bit too low) it is time to go around. Still, I managed to get well established to make the paddock I had chosen on three of my four attempts. At the first attempt I lost sight of my chosen paddock and, if this had been the real thing, would have been forced into a rather boggy looking field a bit short of where I had in tended. Anyhow, I think I would have survived had it been real but may have had to help with doctors/physios/chiropracters profits for a while after!!! The other three went pretty well; I nailed the best glide speed (75kt) quite accurately, went through the checks and radio calls OK, and would have made the chosen paddocks.
So, I was quite happy and finished off with a couple of steep turns, left one near perfect, right one not so good (100' height gain - oops!) and headed back to the very busy Hamilton circuit for a landing. No delay though, overhead the tower and straight onto left hand downwind for 36. Jason did a quick debrief with me (he had just been up in a Cirrus - now that is a fine looking machine - perhaps I should buy a lottery ticket!!!) and seemed pleased with my report. His question was the obvious, "Would you have lived?"
I was also booked for some night flying to keep my rating current the same evening but the forecast came true later in the day with rain and lowering cloud by about 1800 so that killed that idea. Never mind there's always next week and at least I did get to complete a night rating this year.
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