Wednesday, 24 August 2011
Flying Miss SP-ACY
After a couple of cancellations due to the typical Dutch summer weather (either too much wind, or rain, or even thunderstorms), last wednesday I finally got to fly around the "polder" with Erwin in his AT-3, SP-ACY.
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
Man of the hour ...
The day before yesterday, it finally happened: I got to log my first official PPL hour!
I did not fly in one of the potential participation planes, but in a C172M, reg. PH-ACT. It had to be a 4-seater, because I wanted my wife to fly along, to see if she dreaded flying in such a small sardine can as much as she anticipated. Luckily, that was not the case.
The original appointment was at 10AM, so at 8AM I checked the METARs and TAFs of all surrounding airports (EHLE does not have METARs, let alone TAFs), and "buirenradar" (a Dutch site with current and extrapolated rainfall radar images). My conclusion was that it would be VMC from 1600LT onwards, but less than 10 minutes later, my instructor called to reschedule to 1300LT. He said he had all confidence that the weather would look better from then on.
I did not fly in one of the potential participation planes, but in a C172M, reg. PH-ACT. It had to be a 4-seater, because I wanted my wife to fly along, to see if she dreaded flying in such a small sardine can as much as she anticipated. Luckily, that was not the case.
The original appointment was at 10AM, so at 8AM I checked the METARs and TAFs of all surrounding airports (EHLE does not have METARs, let alone TAFs), and "buirenradar" (a Dutch site with current and extrapolated rainfall radar images). My conclusion was that it would be VMC from 1600LT onwards, but less than 10 minutes later, my instructor called to reschedule to 1300LT. He said he had all confidence that the weather would look better from then on.
Thursday, 11 August 2011
No luck so far
Yesterday, Wednesday the 10th: Got to ride my motorbike in full sunshine during the morning hours, but during the afternoon a rain front with low clouds and gusty winds moved in from the North-West. Another no-go for SP-ACY :(
Next possibility Thursday (today) late afternoon / early evening. TAFs looking bad, though, with:
- 24015G33 at EHKD,
-24018G28 @ EHAM as a baseline with "TEMPO BKN015 -RADZ" and "PROB30 TEMPO 24023G33KT 4500RA BKN020".
- EHLW looks VMC (marginal until abot 1500Z, clearing up afterthat)
Let's just hope that this weatherfront clears the country more quickly than predicted...
Next possibility Thursday (today) late afternoon / early evening. TAFs looking bad, though, with:
- 24015G33 at EHKD,
-24018G28 @ EHAM as a baseline with "TEMPO BKN015 -RADZ" and "PROB30 TEMPO 24023G33KT 4500RA BKN020".
- EHLW looks VMC (marginal until abot 1500Z, clearing up afterthat)
Let's just hope that this weatherfront clears the country more quickly than predicted...
Sunday, 7 August 2011
Grounded
Too bad! The weather spoiled today's flight. 22015G27 was a touch too much for a small GA aircraft, and of cause the BKN022TCB did not help either. This means we'll have to pick another date. Lucky for me, I have the next two weeks off, so if Erwin finds a window in his calendar, I'll be happy to fill it for him.
Meanwhile I have also set a date to go fly with a DA-20, so this promises to be a very nice holiday (weather permitting)
Meanwhile I have also set a date to go fly with a DA-20, so this promises to be a very nice holiday (weather permitting)
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