Keeping your PPL SEP Rating valid (2 years)

Keeping you PPL (Private Pilots Licence) current is important, not only to keep your licence valid but it also helps keeping current on the aircraft and the safety aspects (avoid he cobwebs!!). The 2 ways this can be done can be by taking a flight test with an examiner or an hour with an instructor and you will have to do this. The normal PPL holder will hold a SEP land rating which will let you to fly any aircraft with one piston (Single Engine Pilot). This licence is valid for 2 years and must be revalidated. If you miss out on getting this revalidated then don’t worry, this is easy enough to do as long as this is within the 5 years. If this does happen then all you will have to take a PPL skills test again which would include the normal Stalls, PFL’s and Emergencies etc and there would be pass or fail mark given. But to avoid this I would recommend reading the below.
These 2 ways can be broken down for easy read, these are:

1) SEP Test

This is like a PPL skills test and with a valid examiner but not as intense and just to see that you are a safe flyer. They recommend that in the last 3/4 months of the 2 years from the licence being valid is to take this test. It is a great idea to keep with the school you had training with as you will know the aircraft and hopefully the examiner. This is also the cheapest way too. Once you have done this and you have been granted that all is ok with your flying then the examiner will extend the date on your licence by another 2 years and this won’t be 2 years from that date but the date you PPL was issued, so it’s a win win!! Don’t forget that this will be like a test so it’s a good idea to read up from your training days about topics like Stalling, Emergencies and all the different types of take offs and landings etc.. Once this flight is over and the flight was conducted in a safe manor then examiner should hopefully sign your licence for another 2 years.


2) Time Building + 1 hour with an Instructor

During the final year only (first year doesn’t go towards this) of your licence validity then you must have flown at least 12 hours of which six of these must have been flown as PIC (Pilot in command) and or a P1.

These 12 hours must consist of the following:

• 12 landings & takeoffs – If you don’t fly to different aerodromes then your may want to do circuits as touch & go’s do count but can add extra due to landing fees.

• 1 Hour flight training with an instructor – This is what I would do as it would help any parts of your flying that you may want to brush up on.

Unlike the first way to validate your licence, this one hour with an instructor is not going to be like a flight test so don’t worry. This can be any part from of training syllabus. You should use this great opportunity to do something you haven’t done in ages, like the stalls or PFL’s (Practice force landings) etc. This second way is for pilots who fly loads more and don’t wish to take a test but it will cost more on average. And unfortunately this hour with an instructor does not count towards the 12 hours or as a PIC or P1. After this you would need your licence validated by an examiner. Any flight examiners can do this and once you have this signature it will extend the date on licence by another 2 years.

This signature is the most important part of the keeping your licence valid and must be done within the final 3 months before the licence expires. If you forget to get this signature you must then need to take a PPL skills test again with an examiner and those 12 hours flying time is not counted …. SO DON’T FORGET THE SIGNITURE!!


I hope this helps but this information was found by different sources and it can change at anytime so please keep checking at correct sources like the CAA for updates.

Mike & Tom fly to Majorca

My close friend and Pilot Mike Parsons and his Friend Tom are planning to raise money for St Catherines Hospice, by flying a single engine piston aircraft, G-BBPP, Piper PA28 (Pictured below) from the UK to Majorca.

They are both have a passion for flying and are both at similar stages in there training and are progressing from having a Private Pilot status to becoming a Commercial Pilot and this will also help them gain some essential experience on route.

They decided to dedicate the flight to two amazing ladies, Tom's Mum and a close friend of Mikes, Julie Fay who both passed away in St Catherines Hospice earlier this year. St Catherine's did an amazing job looking after them both and they are a charity dedicated to providing specialised end of life care and support to local people, their families, friends and carers.
For over 25 years they have been providing high quality hospice care, free of charge, to people living in Crawley, Horsham, Mid Sussex and East Surrey. Hospice care is based on the belief that each person is more than their illness, and that each of us has unique physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. St Catherine’s responds to the needs of each individual, helping people achieve the best possible quality of life.

To thank them and help future people attending the hospice they have decided to raise money and build awareness for the great cause.

You can follow there flights progress at:

http://mikeandtomflytomajorca.blogspot.com/

Please see there sponsorship page too at:

http://www.justgiving.com/MikeAndTomFlyToMajorca

Good Luck Guys
Kev

Radiotelephony Practical Exam

Radiotelephony (RTF) is essential for the safe operation of aircraft in a busy environment. RTF enables a pilot to obtain aerodrome information, weather information, and instructions relating to the safe movement of air traffic. Many student pilots find the process of learning to use the radio more daunting than learning to fly, but this wasn’t the case for me!

On Wednesday 13th July I passed my RT Practical licence exam. As well as your 7 ground exams as previously discussed you will need to take a oral practical exam for Radiotelephony. The best time for this is before you skills test or after, as by then you would have done loads of radio work on your Cross Country Qualifier and with your instructor locally.

What you would expect in the RT Practical exam would be..

You will be given all the necessary information that will enable you to fly a simulated route with frequencies, what service they provide i.e.: LARS, MATZ etc and timings so you can provide ETAS along the route when prompted. The computer will let you to see your aircraft following the route on a moving map, normally a CAA made up route, and in real time. Your examiner who will perform the roles of the different ATSU’s you will come across but don’t worry, he will not be in the same room! The computer will also simulate traffic within the area and on route, so be aware, but don’t worry the examiner may prompt you like a ATSU may do.

The calls you will be expected to make, but not necessarily in this order are:

• Taxi / Take off from airport with a atc. Calling for taxi, departure info and local weather.

• Requesting en-route services. From Basic service, Traffic service and MATZ penetration.

• A/D/D/P/A/A calls – Aircraft type and call sign, Destination, Departure, Position, Altitude and Additional information ie: Basic Service, MATZ penetration.

• Making a urgency PAN PAN PAN call when prompted.

• Make and or to relay a distress MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY.

• Cancel the PAN and or MAYDAY call.

• Request airspace clearance for VFR and SVFR.

• Joining procedure for the circuit at either a ATC, AFIS or A/G airfield. Also ATIS if available on the test.

• Make a diversion to a different airport which maybe used for the airspace clearance.

• Make use of any en-route facilities provided from RADAR service or FIS.

There are 2 fantastic publications I used and they really did help. The first which is the more important one was the Safety sense leaflet 22, the link for this is below and it had great examples for everything I did in the exam.

http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=33&pagetype=65&appid=11&mode=detail&id=1176


For more advance reading and pilots wanting to further there career I would recommended reading the CAA CAP413. This helps to also assist pilots to become familiar with phraseology. This link is below.

http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=33&pagetype=65&appid=11&mode=detail&id=3441

But overall, have fun and to speak clearly!!

Qualifying Cross Country (QCC)

Finally with good weather I was able to complete my Qualifying cross country.
As a student pilot applying for the Private Pilots Licence you must complete 10 hours of solo flight time in an appropriate type of aircraft and 5 of these hours must be solo cross-country flight time.
This flight is to be considered as the qualifying cross country test, should cover a distance of at least 150nm and make two full stop landings at two other aerodromes that are different from the aerodrome of departure. This flight is to be treated as one flight and must be completed on the same day and flights taking more than one day are not valid for this part of the test.
Each flight must be signed for by the control tower at each of the two aerodromes and get your documents signed to confirm that you arrived at that aerodrome and that the landing and your radio communications with the ATC are good. Below is a link of the form needing to be completed by the tower:

http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/SRG2105FF.pdf

The flight planning started a night before at home where I worked out the route. This would take me from Shoreham via Crowbrough (Around Gatwick ATZ), Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge, over Gillingham and straight into Southend International Airport, Essex.
From Southend airport its then a quick (15 minutes avg) flight over the Themes River to Manston Airport, Kent. And then direct home to Shoreham over Ashford and Tenterdon.
On this flight there is a lot of open spaces and correct time keeping, correct headings and height is important.

http://www.manstonairport.com/

http://www.southendairport.com/


The next morning I then was able to see that the weather was perfect and work out the wind speeds for my flight. The wind speed would then give me my TAS (True Air Speed) which in turn would give me my timings from airport to airport and then I can then work out my fuel needed for the flight. The Wind was at 12knots on the day, just on the limits of the PPL student. The weather was perfect on the day with all the Airports in the East showing weather as “CAVOK” which means no clouds below 5000 feet, no CBs (Certain Clouds) and visibility in excess of 10 kilometres, and forecasts showing this too.

Before the flight I had to have a brief with my instructor. I had to show him my PLOG, my weight and balance spreadsheet, the airport information (Below links) for both Southend and Manston and all emergency procedures that may happen i.e.: Engine failure, Lost procedures of flying into bad weather. It was like a test.

Once this was done I was ready to go. I had checked the plane out, fuelled it, and was all booked out. All the sectors of the flight went well and all the timings I had were perfect.
I stopped at both airports for about 30 minutes to reorganise myself and my lap board, pay the landing fees and have a look around, pictures below.

The overall day was amazing, it was a great experience and I enjoyed every minute of the flight, it really homed all the training I had put in before and flying to other airports is something I am much looking forward to in the future. Below are a few pictures from the day.

Next up: My PPL Test.

http://www.ead.eurocontrol.int/eadbasic/pamslight-28BCCFDF72994294D98126FDF32256B0/7FE5QZZF3FXUS/EN/Charts/AD/AIRAC/EG_AD_2_EGMC_2-1_en_2011-06-02.pdf

http://www.ead.eurocontrol.int/eadbasic/pamslight-28BCCFDF72994294D98126FDF32256B0/7FE5QZZF3FXUS/EN/Charts/AD/AIRAC/EG_AD_2_EGMH_2-1_en_2011-01-13.pdf

Manston & QXC

On Thursday the 19th as a warm up to my Qualifying Cross-Country flight (QXC) myself and my instructor flew over to Manston, Kent International airport. This airport will be used as one of my QXC so it was a great way to see what the airport was like. This airport as per the name is a international airport, but not as many flights in or out as per the likes of Gatwick & Heathrow.

The Runway is one of the biggest runways I have been on before. The length is 2752 x 61m which is long enough for a Boeing 747 (Hench they have 5 there!!!) and the width is bigger then Gatwick, a difference of 15m! Doesn’t sound much but when you are in a Cessna 152 this can take minutes to get to the centre of the runway for Take off.

Once you are ready, your instructor will decide if it is time for you to make your Qualifying Cross Country flight. This is a requirement for issue of your PPL, comprising of a flight of at least 150 nautical miles with two intermediate stops, all on your own. For my flying school they use Manston and Southend Airport. For other flying schools I know they use Lydd and Southend etc. These airports to the East are easier then the likes of going west towards Bournemouth & Southampton as there is a lot of Radio calls and areas of Intense flying as there is 2 major international airports.

After the QXC it is time to revise and take out some more circuits and the other manoeuvres that you will have to demonstrate as part of your Skills Test, this is called higher air work and is part of your 5 hours solo hours.
While the test may seem daunting, it is nothing more than flying as if you were solo, first navigating and then carrying out manoeuvres as required by the examiner.

As long as you meet the required standards you will be then granted your PPL.

Redhill

Wednesday 11th May was meant to be a flight over to Manston Kent with my instructor Owen, but due to the weather forecast for Shoreham this was cancelled with moderate rain showers in the area. However there was a fantastic opportunity given to me to fly with my instructor a Senica aircraft, G-BOJK.

This aircraft needed to be taken up to the hanger at Redhill aerodrome (EGKR)

http://www.redhillaerodrome.com

and this presented a great opportunity to taste a Multi engine aircraft.

The flight was 15 minutes but with fuelling and power checks this worked out to be 45. The flight takes you north of Shoreham and around the Gatwick ATZ via Forest Row and Godstone before landing on runway 26R (on this day).

http://www.ead.eurocontrol.int/eadbasic/pamslight-5FAB5DD7B511BBF33964EF9E6F1B70DC/7FE5QZZF3FXUS/EN/Charts/AD/NON_AIRAC/EG_AD_2_EGKR_2-1_en_2010-08-26.pdf


There was a lot to take in but it was a taster of what’s to come and this was also my first of many flights to Redhill.

Plog

When flying to a different destination/aerodrome as a pilot you should always have a Pilot Log (PLOG) with full route details and information plus a map drawn out to reflect the plog. GPS systems are good to have just like a car sat nav but for the sky but like anything in life it can stop working or crash or if this hasn’t been updated and if light reflects onto the screen making it impossible to see and use.

The Plog itself manages all your pre-flight details and helps record your progress en-route. It is also somewhere to write down any important information en-route that you may need from aerodrome ATIS or joining instructions etc..

My school has plogs (PPL & CPL) they provide for students and these are very clear and easy to use once learned, the link for these are:

http://www.skyleisure.co.uk/resources/PPL_PLOG.pdf

http://www.skyleisure.co.uk/resources/CPL_PLOG.pdf


Below is a copy of my plog I created as I find it easy to have everything on a A5 size paper as the aircraft I use, C152, doesn’t have much space and you really need to be organised in the aircraft and not have loads of paper cluttering up you kneeboard etc.
As you can see all my working out is on the right from the Headings, Wind/Velocity, Time and Fuel.
Once this is filled out you can then pass the important information onto the left which is of course Magnetic Headings & Time.