Down to the serious end of the course and I’m sad to say that my time in the old reliable Cessna has come to an end. A great little plane that I’ve had serious fun in over the past year including some moments that I will never forget. The most recent memory and one of the best has been the night rating which we complete as part of the course. Although it’s only a few hours in length, it was definitely some of the most enjoyable flying that I’ve completed. It’s a strangely different experience flying at night, all of your usual references have changed so the first landings are like being back at square one in training, not the best. Still, flying over the countryside at 11:30pm when there’s next to nobody in the air is a great experience, there’s a certain peace to it. It’s a change going from looking at the beautiful scenery of Ireland to looking at nothing but darkness punctuated by the bright lights from towns and cities, which really look fantastic.
Of course with the departure of the Cessna comes the very welcome of the arrival of my time on the Piper Seneca, the twin engine aircraft used in AFTA. Something I have definitely been looking forward to since day one as it’s the first progression on to a bigger, better, faster aircraft. Throughout training so far, I’ve always found myself looking at the Seneca just waiting for the day where I get to fly it. The obvious difference being two engines instead of one, the Seneca is larger, heavier, more complex to operate and far more powerful. Learning to fly the Seneca has been almost like learning to fly all over again. And yes, back to talking about landings, my first few on the Seneca were up there with the worst, however, now that I have become accustomed to the aircraft I’m happy to say they are gradually improving.
Everything about the aircraft is different in some way, from how it handles in the air to the procedures and checklists required for each stage of flight, it’s all new and has to be learnt in a short space of time. However like everything up to now on the course, I’m really enjoying the challenge. Previously flying has been relatively hands on and based on a few key references, without too much to worry about. With the Seneca you’re in to much more procedural flying, completing checklists and carrying out appropriate actions at the correct stages of flight. In that sense it has much more of a feel of flying a large jet where all of these actions are essential.
Once you get your head wrapped around the complexities of flying the Seneca, it becomes very rewarding. So far I have loved it and I look forward to my remaining flights.