Lot of solos, Instrument Flying and Navigation

So since the last update a lot of stuff has happened on the flying side.
Our syllabus, compared to a standard PPL, is made up of lot of solo hours, so this is what I've been mainly doing during the last month, starting from circuits and general handling lessons, in which we practice standard circuits, glide approaches, forced landings, stalls and all those kinds of maneuvers that have been taught to us.

It then turns into navigation, the big solo part of the training, which simply means flying from point A to point B, to point C [...] and usually back to point A (at least so far) without getting lost.
Described like this it may appear simple, but when you've got your flight at 6 o' clock in the morning it means you've got to plan the whole route in advance the day before (which usually takes about an hour) and then wake up even earlier on the morning of your flight to find out what the wind is like, in order to complete the planning with headings, times and fuel consumption for each leg.

Despite the lack of features here in Arizona (some of the waypoints are really really difficult to spot as they are usually dirt strips in the middle of the desert, which means they're the same colour), all the navs so far have been good (I've done 7 so far) and I've always made it back to Goodyear safe and sound, without getting lost or busting any airspace (which here is very easy to to).
On the dual side of flights recently we've mainly been doing Instrument Flying. That means we're under the hood from just after takeoff until just before landing and we have to perform the whole flight just looking to instruments (no looking outside). The G1000 avionics help a lot in this phase, therefore we are beyond the syllabus and have practiced some VOR tracking and I've managed to fly my first two ILS approaches into international commercial airports.

Me flying under the hood for the ILS approach into KIWA

I have to say that compared to Europe, ATC here are way more GA friendly and can manage all kinds of traffic, providing the same service whether you're an A320 or a little DA40. So thumbs up for USA so far!

I will update you soon, night flights next week!
Stay tuned
Thanks for reading

First Solo with CTC and the DA-40

And finally that happened...again!
It wasn't my very first solo as I began my PPL training in Milan but I felt quite the same sensations...

"DiamondStar 637RC right close traffic approved, runway 21 cleared for takeoff"

Lined up, holding the brakes, advancing the power lever all the way up, just a quick glance to the engine instruments to verify I can actually make my takeoff power and off I go...airspeed is building up to 65 kts, my rotation speed...I'm committed to fly the aircraft now! And as soon as I realize I'm flying without anybody on the right hand seat, it's too late...here's my 1200 feet indicated by the G1000 altimeter, time to put the flaps up and waiting for the climb power reduction...Today the aircraft is climbing very impressively without an "extra" person on board!
Crosswind turn, downwind turn...and here it comes my landing clearance:

"DiamondStar 7RC, runway 21 cleared to land"

Just the time to read back the clearance, doing my after takeoff and pre-landing checklist and here's the 45° position from my landing runway, power back to 20%, flaps Takeoff trying to fly a perfect base this time, holding 90kts, my descend speed.
Quick look to the runway and I turn final for runway 21, speed is good, Flaps Landing, I'm stable, little low on profile but I have got extra speed so I can easily adjust for it.
In the meantime my aiming point is getting closer...I'm right on profile at the correct speed, power all the way back to idle while I start to round out and flare. I know I've had some problems on this with the DA-40, because it doesn't allow me to make mistakes. But not this time. Landing is just the way it should have been...I made it! Cleared the runway, I taxi back to our parking position where I find an interesting surprise...as you can see on the video! :)

Update you soon.

Thanks for reading!

Started flying...finally!!

Hi all,

I've been here in the USA for 1 month and after a few delays due to instructors' training we started our flying activity!

DiamondStar 637RC and our great team!

Great news is that we fly with a 3-1-3-1 roster pattern (plus weekends off) and because of that we've already managed to complete 6 missions:

• Effect of Controls
• Straight and Level Flight
• Climbing and Descending 1
• Medium Turns
• Climbing and Descending 2
• Stalling 1

Also, because we've already got some flying experience, our instructor started to let us practice some circuits and landings in different airports since the first mission (RT and takeoffs all done by ourselves from the beginning as well), which put us well ahead of the syllabus and give us some confidence with the aircraft (I managed to land it correctly at the end!).

The aircraft itself is very nice, brand new, G1000 and AutoPilot equipped, although non provided with a very powerful engine, which would have made a great difference in performance particularly in this hot weather (actual field elevation 1000ft, we usually take off with a density altitude of 4500 ft !!) and when we're full loaded, which we usually are as each of us can backseat the next cadet flying.

One of my landings in GYR Runway 21

One other great thing is the air out here is quite bumpy after 11.00 in the morning, so we're actually practicing the effects of thermals.

Next week stalling 2 and circuits to come!

Have a good weekend :)

USA finally

Well, after coming back from the UK my little holiday in Italy went by very quickly and on the 24th of June, 4 of us were on a United Airlines flight to Phoenix!

The 4 of us having our training in Phoenix

After more than 15 hours of travelling, we were welcomed by some of the cadets of CPs ahead of us which was a very kind surprise as they made us feel comfortable soon!

The center itself is amazing, everything is brand new and the social areas are very good: we've already had a couple of barbecue, some pool matches and a swimming-pool party where, by the way, we've been "initiated".

Starting...again!

After our "induction week" - basically some lessons that prepares you to face the proper side of the training - we have been given a week off.
This was mainly due to the lack of instructor here (CTC is training some more instructor for us and this took a little bit more time than expected) but we've been promised we'll catch up with the schedule soon.

During the very first American weekend we went to Las Vegas with some of the guys already here in Goodyear which was a great experience and we're planning to go to California for our next week off!
This just to give you an overview of how many experiences we can do here in the USA (although, yes, we're in the middle of the desert!).

From the Stratosphere - Las Vegas

Hope to update you soon, from the air-side!
Thank you for reading
Ricky

Post groundschool thinking

I'm watching the British island going past me, the sun (strangely) shining outside, while our ferry is leading us towards the continental Europe. We still have over a thousand of kilometers to go before reaching Milan and my thinking is now focused on how fast has these 6 months gone!
It seems yesterday when we were doing exactly the opposite route, leaving all our friends, family, habits and our comfortable home "just" to chase a dream and, although I'm at less than half of my training, I can say for sure that these months already paid off. They simply worth, because I've met people and some of them are or will probably become friends. I'm going to carry on with my training with some of the guys I met on that typical rainy English December day, and I'm glad to have shared the first part of the training with all of them.
Each of my coursemates gave me something, and I'm really thankful for that.
Well, as you will have probably realised, the groundschool has come to an end, the electronic exams went good and I've done well in all of the 14 subjects, so no re-sits and a really pleasant overall average of 95%!
So...what does that mean?
That simply means that having completed successfully the groundschool I've just come to the first milestone of my training (the ATPL theory, indeed).
What's next, then? Well, as you would have probably understood, I'm going home for a few weeks, just to see my friends and family again, then I'm heading to the hot Phoenix for the next six months, where I'll be up in the air training for the second milestone: the CPL (Commercial Pilot Licence, for who is not familiar with acronyms yet).
Well, I think I bored you enough so far, so I'll update you as soon as I get to America!

End of groundschool

Well, it seems a while since CP115 started in December, most of us shy in our first APD (Airline Preparation Day).

Last Thursday was our last ground school day and we're all pleased to have finished our theoretical training here at CTC.

No more lessons ahead of us!

Having completed the whole CBT (Computer Based Training) we'll be studying for the next month to pass our Module 2 exams (Performance, General Navigation, Radio Navigation, Flight Planning, Operation Procedures, Human Performance and Limitations, Mass and Balance), which, compared to module 1, are much more practical and less "facts knowledge" is required.
Here's a short video, taken on our last day of HP&L when a doctor came to show us some of the illusions we can have whilst flying.
Here's the inverting goggles experience: a little example which demonstrates that what our eyes sense, is not what we are effectively doing.

The great news which has been told us just a week ago is that our request to go to Phoneix, Arizona, has been approved by CTC so me and other 3 cadets of our course are going to head to the USA on the 26th of June, and as I can see from other cadets' blogs the experience is going to be amazing, so I really can't wait to!

Arizona we're coming!

Well, that's all for now! I'll update the blog after the exams, so fingers crossed and lot of study for the following days!

The price of a ticket to the USA

Module 1 results and beginning of module 2

Hello everybody,
It's been quite long since I last updated my blog.
I have been keeping my fingers crossed and we finally got the results.
I'm very pleased to tell you that I passed all the 7 ATPL exams with an average of 94,4% which is above my goal of 90%! Here's the detail of the single subjects:

• Principles of Flight                93%
• Aircraft General Knowledge   90%
• Instruments                           91%
• Meteorology                          97%
• Air Law                                 95%
• VFR Comms                          100%
• IFR Comms                            95%

As soon as we got our results (14 of 17 cadets of our CP passed them all) we headed to the pub to celebrate properly our results.

Me and other 7 mates celebrating our results

While waiting for our results, we also started our Module 2 lessons and we've covered so far Aircraft Performance and half of General Navigation.

They both seem to be quite straight forward (so far) and more "practical" than the first module ones although there's still lot of work to do to keep all of them in mind.

This is all for now!

I'll post some more updates soon

Thanks for reading!!

The whole module 1 tome..it's incredible you have to study all this stuff in 2 and half months!

End of Module 1 lessons...lot of study from now until the exams

Hi all,
Today our CP have just completed the last lesson of Module 1, which means that from now until the exams the only activity we're supposed to do is...studying!

Since last update, we completely went through Meteo, Instruments and Comms.

A gyroscope, we need to know everything about it for instruments exam

I feel quite confident with some of the subjects, less confident with others and I think that massive question bank and revising the most argue subjects is the key for quite good results!
We are also trying to find some good methods to remember all the stuff that must be learnt by memory:

Some post-it on my room walls to remember the most difficult things (for me)

By the way, to better understand how instruments work on board of a real aircraft, we have been for 4 hours into a simulator in group of 3-4 people during the late afternoon and the evening.
It was a really enjoyable experience and in the meantime a very useful opportunity, as I find easier to understand how things work if I can have a direct experience of them.
Here are some pictures and a video of my landing at Gatwick Airport on runway 26L (still wind and great visibility, far away from real conditions, but at least I managed to land it :D )
So from now finger crossed as the exams are getting very close!!

Me and one of my mate, just before starting the approach to EGKK

Me trying to land a B737-300 at Gatwick

Three groundschool subjects gone

Hello,
since I wrote last time, we've finished 3 of the 7 subjects we need to deeply know for our exams, that are planned to be on the first week of March.

The first and longest subject we went through was Aircraft General Knowledge (AGK), which deals with Airframes, Hydraulics, Electrics, Pneumatics, Flight Controls with a huge section dedicated to all the various types of engine

Then we moved onto Air Law, a little bit more boring, because of all the laws and regulations we have to know, but still interesting as you start to understand, for example, all the lights you can find in an airport and you're given a little preview of the instrumental procedures for departures and arrivals.
Lot of things to learn by memory!

We've then been through Principles of Flight, probably the most difficult subject so far, because you need to understand all the physics which is behind all the flight maneuvers and, from that, be able to predict the behavior of the airplane in certain circumstances.

We've just completed our last CBT day for this question and I can say that I can understand much more than before how an airplane flies!

Actually, to keep the concentration and also the motivation up, we've managed to have a quick trip in a simulator just to sit and have some pictures, now understanding something more about all the controls fitted inside!

Where I hope to be from the next years on...

PFD and ND!

Landed safely, despite the ENG1 fire!

A more complete view of the flight deck..ok something definitely went wrong (ECAM)

We are now ready to head to Meteo for the next week and a half (not much time, if you think about the huge amount of information we'll be taught), which promises to be an interesting subject!

Hope to update you soon