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| Josh doing a preflight |
I have passed my Commercial Pilots Licence exam- its done, over and I am back in the UK.
Lets go back a few weeks though. You perform your CPL on a multi engined aircraft. For us, it would be the Seminole. The Seminole is slightly bigger than the Archer with a few obvious differences- First, for the perceptive amongst us we noticed two engines on the wings, then if we looked really closely we noticed a retractable landing gear, differential alierons, and a T-tail amongst a few different features. Exciting stuff! Joking aside it was a great aircraft to fly. On my first outing in one I quickly learned this aircraft has a lot more inertia that needs controlling, it flies faster and you have added complications such as manifold pressure settings. You got a sense of flying a 'real' aircraft and we learned about procedures we would be using all our working career such as what to do if you loose and engine - asymmetric work.
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| Time off from flying |
We had a little time off between PT4 and the multi engine stage. This was good and we didn't waste the opportunity to enjoy the US for the final time. One highlight was having a day out on a lake near Phoenix after we rented some boats and jet skis. It was great to be out on the water after spending so much time in the desert.... going flat out on a jet ski.... Much fun was had.
The CPL test itself consist of a 2.2 hour flight with a CAA examiner. They test you on areas such as stall recovery, navigation and asymmetric work to name but a few. I was nervous beforehand but felt I had learned enough to demonstrate my skills. The flight itself went well with one little hiccup which I resolved. In the debrief after the examiner said I had flown well, even considering the moderate turbulence we where experiencing. It was a relief to be done and bitter sweet to be leaving the US. I've had a fantastic time in the US and it lived up to its hype from past students.
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| 'Chair flying' for recall |
I passed on the 1st of May and flew home on the 4th after we all had our tickets changed by OAA. This gave me the weekend to get packed and say my goodbyes. Six students from AP360 flew home on BA288 back to the UK before being due back in Oxford on the 18th. I've actually been back to OAA already just to see my new house and also to listen to a talk from Ryanair. It was surreal to be back but enjoyable knowing I will be walking out airside soon to fly the Seneca's on the final examinable part of the course - and probably the most challenging. So things certainly are not over and the focus and determination remains.
However for now its time to relax a little, load the washing machine up and say hello to friends and family.
I hope you are all well.
Lets go back a few weeks though. You perform your CPL on a multi engined aircraft. For us, it would be the Seminole. The Seminole is slightly bigger than the Archer with a few obvious differences- First, for the perceptive amongst us we noticed two engines on the wings, then if we looked really closely we noticed a retractable landing gear, differential alierons, and a T-tail amongst a few different features. Exciting stuff! Joking aside it was a great aircraft to fly. On my first outing in one I quickly learned this aircraft has a lot more inertia that needs controlling, it flies faster and you have added complications such as manifold pressure settings. You got a sense of flying a 'real' aircraft and we learned about procedures we would be using all our working career such as what to do if you loose and engine - asymmetric work. 
The CPL test itself consist of a 2.2 hour flight with a CAA examiner. They test you on areas such as stall recovery, navigation and asymmetric work to name but a few. I was nervous beforehand but felt I had learned enough to demonstrate my skills. The flight itself went well with one little hiccup which I resolved. In the debrief after the examiner said I had flown well, even considering the moderate turbulence we where experiencing. It was a relief to be done and bitter sweet to be leaving the US. I've had a fantastic time in the US and it lived up to its hype from past students.
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