I’ve had an excellent day today. We flew cross country to Port Elizabeth, the main commercial airport where we arrived on our BA flight almost five weeks ago. I landed the aircraft on a mamouth runway – the one the 747s use. It was so long that I spent the next 10 mins taxing to the end! My instructor Ian is a retired commercial pilot – a captain no less, he was able to organise a lovely lady to meet us with a wheelchair, and take us to the control tower to see all the radar equipment. I watched the screen as a 747 came in to land and another took off. It reminded me of the Bruce Willis film, the one where he had to save the entire airport from a terrible disaster. Only this time there was just Nicholas, the air traffic controller, to guide everyone in, - and a HUGE computer.
The trip started uneventfully, I plotted the headings on a map and calculated the effects the wind would have on our journey. My calculations were spot on; first we made a short trip to an unmanned airport about 50 miles inland from the air school; after a quick landing practice, we took off again towards Port Elizabeth (PA as we locals call it). It took us just over an hour to travel the 80 miles, over some of the most incredible scenery - hills and valleys of rich green vegetation, with the occasional tiny road or river that looked like tiny veins dissecting the countryside.
During our trip the weather took turn for the worst and we had to lose height so that we could fly under the clouds. Even though we now had a really good view of the ground, it was very difficult to be sure that we were going in the right direction, one green mountain looks very much like another when seen from above!. Thank goodness my calculations were correct and we were right on course to PA.
It was great to be flying the aircraft to a proper destination. I’ve spent weeks practicing manoeuvres and it was a treat to put it all into practice. God did me a big favour when I failed the medical. Not having to pass any tests and get all the relevant performance criteria ‘ticked’ has meant that I have been able to relax and have some fun. And what a great feeling it is to be flying over this beautiful unspoilt countryside – and doing most of it on my own. I keep having to pinch myself to make sure this is real!
As we arrived at PA the tower informed us that fog had closed the air school’s runways and we had to wait for further instructions. By the time we had finished at the control tower there was no hope of flying home. I was already flexing my credit cards in anticipation of finding a nice warm hotel with a hot bath and room service as Ian went off to find a suitable long term parking space for our little plane. I found the airport coffee shop and settled down to enjoy a large café latté. I got some very funny looks, sitting there in my navy blue flying suite clutching my crutches – I think people thought I had escaped from some institution! When he returned with the news that the school was sending a car for us, so no hotel for me, but I did manage a large glass of red wine before our driver arrived.
The best part of this adventure is that I get to repeat it tomorrow – weather permitting we plan to fly down to PA with another crew and bring the abandoned aircraft home. This time we will fly along the costal route and I might get to see some Whales.
The trip started uneventfully, I plotted the headings on a map and calculated the effects the wind would have on our journey. My calculations were spot on; first we made a short trip to an unmanned airport about 50 miles inland from the air school; after a quick landing practice, we took off again towards Port Elizabeth (PA as we locals call it). It took us just over an hour to travel the 80 miles, over some of the most incredible scenery - hills and valleys of rich green vegetation, with the occasional tiny road or river that looked like tiny veins dissecting the countryside.
During our trip the weather took turn for the worst and we had to lose height so that we could fly under the clouds. Even though we now had a really good view of the ground, it was very difficult to be sure that we were going in the right direction, one green mountain looks very much like another when seen from above!. Thank goodness my calculations were correct and we were right on course to PA.
It was great to be flying the aircraft to a proper destination. I’ve spent weeks practicing manoeuvres and it was a treat to put it all into practice. God did me a big favour when I failed the medical. Not having to pass any tests and get all the relevant performance criteria ‘ticked’ has meant that I have been able to relax and have some fun. And what a great feeling it is to be flying over this beautiful unspoilt countryside – and doing most of it on my own. I keep having to pinch myself to make sure this is real!
As we arrived at PA the tower informed us that fog had closed the air school’s runways and we had to wait for further instructions. By the time we had finished at the control tower there was no hope of flying home. I was already flexing my credit cards in anticipation of finding a nice warm hotel with a hot bath and room service as Ian went off to find a suitable long term parking space for our little plane. I found the airport coffee shop and settled down to enjoy a large café latté. I got some very funny looks, sitting there in my navy blue flying suite clutching my crutches – I think people thought I had escaped from some institution! When he returned with the news that the school was sending a car for us, so no hotel for me, but I did manage a large glass of red wine before our driver arrived.
The best part of this adventure is that I get to repeat it tomorrow – weather permitting we plan to fly down to PA with another crew and bring the abandoned aircraft home. This time we will fly along the costal route and I might get to see some Whales.
posted by judith | 10:30 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home