Hullllooooo..

Bob knows but thought it'd be worth mentioning, passed my CPL flight test on Thursday such a good feeling knowing that all the hard work that started just over 4 years ago has got me to this point!

It was your standard, I guess, 3.something (3.2) hour flight. Had a newspaper for the ATO but left it in the baggage compartment tsk tsk but I redeemed myself with an assortment of refreshing drinks haha..

He had me find a small 'town' if you'd call it that (Quindanning). Then off as per flight plan to Wickepin, slightly right of track at this point, overhead Narrogin aerodrome. Got to Wickepin then off to Dowerin, but alas, diversion to a small Y-junction east of York with an engine failure and all that in between. Found the junction, did some airwork and maneuvers east of Northam, into Northam for a few circuits. Departed overhead and headed to Perth for a planned overshoot that wasn't available so just reqeusted some vectoring in CTA and then back to Jandakot. All good!

Thanks to all for the helping hands and motivating comments.

Cheers!

ELLZY!! WAY TO GO MATE!!!!!

Congratulations! Read your post this morning and still can't wipe the silly grin off my face. I'm really chuffed - brilliant mate, absolutely brilliant

But, don't think now that you've gone through this first big step that you can bugger off out of the forums though. We still want to hear what you get up to.

What a great start to 2011!

Thanks Richard, you sound happier than me almost! Haha not really.. No way I didn't plan on leaving I like to get my information from a few different sources and this is one of them!

Cheers..

Although I don't think I will be able to finish the Performance course Very busy at the moment, not much time to rest with the instructor course going on. Unless you can extend it.. again??

Thanks again

Hi Ellzy,

No worries, thanks for the work you put in on the beta test already. We won't be extending the test period any further unfortunately. We got a lot of really good feedback and now comes the time for consolidating the informaion and finishing off the last sections of the material.
You doing an instructor's rating now are you?

Ok Richard no worries, apologies, I'm sure you'll get a fantastic 'real world' response when you really get it out there.

Yeah I booked myself in for it probably 6 months ago, it started on the 3rd and it was a VERY busy week trying to take that in and prepare for a flight test. But now thats over I can just concentrate on my whiteboard skills It's been a lot of fun already.

Cheers

Hey guys,

Just a bit of an update, yesterday marked the 'official end' of the 6 week instructor course. Flight tests will be held either later this week or very early the following. Got a couple of hours mutual flying up my sleeve still to practice.

Will let you know how it all pans out,

Cheers

Well it all went ahead today and went well enough for a pass! I am stoked, can't wait to get out there and start moulding some future pilots.

Did my long brief on Effect of Controls, short brief on Short Field Landings, some theory namely windshear, induced drag (ways to reduce) and answered "Why do we have a horizontal stabiliser?" Which brought me to longitudinal stability and eventually the arrangement of forces. Privileges and limitations as per usual..

Flight went pretty well I thought however I really should've been ahead of the aircraft where conditions were concerned as I didn't really make that work for me as well as I should have. Had to go around when demonstrating a flapless eeek!

I'll still be checking in every now and then and doing my bit where possible. However for now, back to work til I find a real job

Heaps of congratulations michael. Must have been tough but now you made it.
You had better not disappear on us here, now i know you are an instructor, i'm going to nail whatever questions i have on to you so you had better be ready. lol

Maybe a trail one to see if you are up to it. hehe

Q: With differing atmospheric presures that give rise to QNH, and during assending altitude where for every 30ft a decrease of 1 hPa is assumed, wouldn't at say in a high pressure, the rate of decrease with altitude not also change say 29ft or 28ft per hPa.
Wouldn't the compression of atmospheric pressure change that also or is it to insignificant to worry about?

This is a question I've had rolling around my head for a while. So it is important to me.

See how you go with it michael.
Might see you in the air soon. Going for my first area solo this sunday. Looking forward to it so much.

Thanks mate yep 7 weeks of full on hard work and more or less 6 day weeks now give way to a sleep in every now and then!

Good question, have not heard of lessening decrease with increasing altitude, although the principle behind it seems plausible. You're saying that due to the lower atmospheric pressure itself at say 20,000ft, for every 1hPa drop, would correspond now to a lesser altitude 'gain' (28')?

I suppose, but when you're talking a couple of feet at a higher altitude than VFR pilots generally think about flying at, it would become insignificant and impractical. It would be like calculating a heading to fly of 233, and rounding up to 235 over a distance of 60nm, because even then you'd only be 2nm or so out.

Good to see you're thinking ahead though! Enjoy the area solo, take your time, try pick out some features, make every minute count!

Cheers

Great job Ellzy. congratulations on your rating. That is fantastic!

As for the compression of air at higher atmospheric pressures, I guess you could always check it using the barometric equations . However, these formulas have a tendency to be somewhat unwieldly in the cockpit or on the flight plannng table

So, to keep it simple, we stick with ISA's standard 1 hPa / 30 ft and 2 degrees per thousand feet. As Ellzy said, in the end it doesnt make enough difference to be bothered about, certainly at the levels we fly.

Good thinking though Peter. Well done!