Going like a Boeing! (#2)
Firstly, radio work to most people is dreaded. And it shouldn’t be. I have been very fortunate in that I started my training at a controlled airfield. Flying at Wonderboom – one of the country’s busiest airports – I have been exposed to busy airspace right from the start and so I feel very comfortable with my basic radio work. But I have spoken to a number of people who have been flying in uncontrolled airspace and are actually afraid to enter the busy areas like we have here in Gauteng. Just remember that air traffic controllers are there to help you – not to reprimand you on your radio work. If you cannot remember a clearance, it is not a sin to say “Say again”. And it is always handy to keep a pen and paper nearby to write down lengthy clearances, QNH’s, squawk codes etc. Just remain calm – don’t feel that you have to rush and speak at a speed that even a Mirage would be proud of! We are still new at this aviation game, and with time comes experience and confidence. There are apparently cassettes that one can listen to on how to improve your radio work. This can be a great help I’m sure, especially if English is not your home language. Remember that practice makes perfect: go over your radio work over and over again in your head until you can wake up in the middle of the night screaming out clearances. If you have a hand-held radio it is even better. Tune into, for example, Johannesburg Approach, and practise advanced radio work to yourself, listen to the other pilots and take tips. This is something that my father used to make me do - tune into ATIS and write down information that is being given over and over again until I got everything written down in that specific time. I’m sure that I’ll thank him eventually for making me do this!
And let me tell you, you only realise what a wonderful invention the radio is until you are without one… I had my first radio failure on the 15th of March. Everything went well until I had to switch from Wonderboom’s frequency to the GFA frequency. As I entered the General Flying Area I told other aircraft my position and that I was headed for the Freeway Airstrip to practise some simulated forced landings. I knew that there was something wrong when I got to the airstrip and saw another aircraft doing circuits there. Obviously if they had heard me heading towards where they were operating they would have let me know. So I headed off to the Western boundary trying to find the fault. Another aircraft tried to make contact with me. At this stage I would be lying if I told you that I wasn’t slightly panicky. There really is no reason to get worried when you think about it afterwards. Ask yourself: Am I in a life-threatening situation? And even if you were, probably the worst thing to do would be to panic because that is when you forget procedures and act irrationally. I can tell you that my mind went almost blank – I couldn’t remember everything that I had learnt on the Radio Licence course. The fact that I was supposed to do the unmanned airfield procedure by flying overhead at 2000I didn’t even cross my mind and I decided that the best thing to do was to turn back and continue to transmit blind, watching out for other traffic. Luckily, Wonderboom allows student pilots to land back at the airfield after a radio failure and to make a few mistakes. I eventually landed and taxied to the front of the tower. I ran up the stairs (once again getting my year’s exercise) to go apologise to the controllers and tell them the story. I was looking quite distraught apparently. At least the controllers were really nice about it and we had a good old laugh. They also told me that they could hear me ALL the time, ALL the way, in the GF and even when I WASN’T transmitting! That meant that they had heard how well I could speak “French” too… I still had another flight booked for later that afternoon, so after going for my usual lunch (a Streetwise Burger), I returned to find that I had been moved onto an “old favourite” which had given me a few problems before. At the flight school they jokingly told me that they were testing me… I really think that they were. But being the brave soldier that I am, off I went. The flight went well until downwind. The radios started giving trouble! Apparently there was something wrong with the alternator. Luckily I was already cleared to land. Two radio failures on two different planes in one day! I can honestly say that I went home feeling “uitgeput”!
Landings. There is just so much to this topic. One can learn something new every day. The above pics are of when I was taking off and landing on my first solo. The best advice I can give, from my own experience, is that each time you land, critique yourself and develop a feel for the plane. Make a mental picture of the outside view and very important, watch your speed. Take into account the wind speed and direction – the controller doesn’t give you this information for nothing. If you land at an uncontrolled airfield, it is very important to look in what direction the wind is blowing from and to choose the correct runway to land into the wind. Landing in a tailwind can have detrimental effects if it is carried out on a runway like at Kitty Hawk – which is a good place to practise your short field landing techniques! Always look at the end of the runway when flaring – something I had to force myself to do. This will seem awkward in the beginning, but it will make landing a lot easier. Also, watching others land will help a lot. With time you will learn to see mistakes clearly like, “That bloke was too high on final approach” or “He/she flared way too early”! You can learn a lot from your own and other’s mistakes.
Emails are welcome!
ngarden
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