Got the license, how to build up experience and confidence?

Peter wrote:

They do have an AIP, for ICAO compliance reasons

I looked at it, just for fun. The list of differences from ICAO SARPs is 111 pages…

The list of differences from ICAO SARPs is 111 pages…

Only 111 pages? There is plenty of stuff not listed.

Since the USA leads the world in aviation, maybe ICAO should have filed differences with the USA

then we would also include acro, sea, towing, lifting parachutes, mountain flying, snow (ski), night VFR, long sea crossing, flying in rain, flying in snow, short field, international field.

I take that tongue in cheek, because

night VFR = mandatory in FAA PPL
long sea crossing = the plane is not aware (maybe anxiety / neurosis screening for the pilot?)
flying in rain/snow = flying in low vis; should be covered (EASA VFR is now 1500m, hey ho…)
short field = mandatory in FAA PPL
international = the plane is not aware (maybe a xenophobia screening for the pilot? )

The problem is that in the 15 years I have been hanging out the GA scene I have heard hundreds of pilots complain they don’t have the confidence to fly from A to B (which was the main reason for writing up my trips, 2003 onwards) but I have not heard a single pilot complain they didn’t have the confidence to do aerobatics, glider towing, mountain flying, etc. If somebody wants to do aeros etc they all know where to get the training. Usually it is next door to the PPL school… some guy with a Pitts or whatever, working out of a hut.

…but I have not heard a single pilot complain they didn’t have the confidence to do aerobatics

I can help you out here! And I always love to be number 1

If somebody wants to do aeros etc they all know where to get the training.

Honestly, really, I wouldn’t. I was trained myself in two schools and have been instructing since 1992 in two schools and there is one more next door, but I never came across one that did aerobatics.

…long sea crossing

What comes to mind would be DR navigation skills and usage of sea survival equipment, maybe a sea survival course (we need to do that every so and so many years but right now can’t find a swimming pool where they let us inflate a dinghy. The packaging stuff makes a big mess and clogs the filters of the pools…)

night VFR = mandatory in FAA PPL

Not with EASA

EASA VFR is now 1500m, hey ho…

1500m has always been the lowest for VFR, anywhere. One of the points where not even the US differs from ICAO.

short field = mandatory in FAA PPL

What is the definition of “short field” in the FAA PPL syllabus? Or anywhere else?

Peter wrote:

If somebody wants to do aeros etc they all know where to get the training. Usually it is next door to the PPL school… some guy with a Pitts or whatever, working out of a hut.

Well, tongue in cheek or not, going from A to B is indeed a large part of the core PPL training, something everyone know how to do, both in theory and practice. I mean, we all get proper training to go places through PPL. I just don’t believe it is lack of confidence that prevent people. I think it is the lack of someone to travel with or lack of purpose for the trip. Planning requires time and effort to some extent, and if the sole reason is to move the airplane from point A to point B then it soon feels a bit futile.

I have never been very found of “going places” myself, unless it is for a specific reason. These “fly ins”/meeting you have near the Mediterranean sounds fun, but it is much to far for me. But my youngest son likes flying (the only one in the family except myself. He has already enough money in the bank and is determined to get a pilot license). With him on board I suddenly see much more fun in going places also, both for the navigational flying experience and because he think it is great. And I have one to travel with (as well as a biologic, intelligent and extremely adaptive autopilot )

I have not heard a single pilot complain they didn’t have the confidence to do aerobatics, glider towing, mountain flying, etc.

OK, I’ll be number 2 , then. Even to think of aerobatics, or operating out of the very steep runways one sees in some mountain areas, makes my stomach turn around. No lack of aerobatics training opportunities though, there are 3 acro planes in the hangar next to mine and one of them is in Slovakia or so presently, taking part in European championships. And if one thing looks boring to me it is glider towing, can’t see the fun of that though it may be good if one wants to build hours without much of a budget.

Neither do I lack company for long trips, we’re a tight community round here and there’s fellows enough that would like to fly along, in my plane or in their own. Must be my poor lonesome cowboy mindset.

NB as for the PPL training, it has been stated many times that its one single purpose is to get the candidate to pass the tests, no less, no more. No different from any other kind of training, be it ITIL or first aid or scuba diving or whatever.

Jan_Olieslagers wrote:

And if one thing looks boring to me it is glider towing, can’t see the fun of that though it may be good if one wants to build hours without much of a budget.

I must admit it was more fun when we had the Pawnee. Flying a single seater, tail wheel, with a big 6 cylinder Lycoming far out on the long nose simply is FUN A year ago we got a WT9 Dynamic with a modified Rotax (Big Bore mod, 115 HP). It’s a great plane to fly, but where the Pawnee is a no compromise bad ass off road truck, the WT9 is more like a Audi A3 or something. It’s not the same anymore, but the costs for the club is reduced to 1/3, and that is what counts in the long run. More gliding for less money, and much more reliable also. Towing gliders is great flying practice. Especially at Oppdal (deep in the mountains) when the wind starts to reach 20+ knots and more. This year I concentrate on acro and now also “flying places” with my son. When i started towing gliders with the Pawnee, I was a bit bored with flying actually. Flying the Pawnee for some years towing gliders changed all that for me. I wish I could stop working and only fly all kinds of aircraft all the time, acro, gliders, towing, Cub and build my own, but I would soon run out of cash. So I have to prioritize, one thing at the time, and I hadn’t planned or predicted my son should get so hooked. Life is hard

I went at 4000ft to get the expected VFR transit at Southampton and a handover to Bournemouth (in flying, always try to set up a fait accompli for ATC) and having (rarely) forgotten to check enroute notams I avoided busting a TRA on the way (3000ft top). On the way back I got a clearance to 2000ft max and didn’t bother to climb higher once clear of CAS, when Southampton called me up and asked me if I knew about the prohibited zone coming up! Obviously I didn’t so while still in their CAS I asked for a climb to 4000ft, and they told me the top of it was 3000ft and cleared me to climb.

On my view, one of the totally essential things in flying in the UK VFR (especially in summer) is a quick check of the AIC Mauve series, Peter. So many temporary restricted areas, particularly along the coasts, due to festivals, airshows, other events, etc.

With all that attention to detail you generally put into your flying, it really astounds me you don’t dedicate these couple of minutes to temporary flying restrictions…

it really astounds me you don’t dedicate these couple of minutes to temporary flying restrictions…

It is the one time one forgets that one gets this… I probably forget once a year.

Around here, the usual prohibited zone is the Seaford (SFD) airshow.

Is there a product similar to the Swiss DABS which gives you a current presentation of the active restricted areas for other countries?

Yes, the UK has this site, but it has been down a lot lately. It is up right now but was down yesterday. Typical output

I had “removed” some large-scale ones in the above depiction e.g. a Red Arrows formation flight which covered most of the UK.

One needs to decide which notams matter. For example we have loads of ones like this

which are simply banal. With the internet, there is a tendency to squirt out a notam like people go on facebook or twatter to tell everybody their nail varnish has come off.

What really matters is the prohibited areas, and they appear mostly in the summer. There is a schedule of them and most (all?) of them involve the Red Arrows aero team.

This is a genuine hazard for VFR flight, which you are protected from when flying IFR in CAS. But you lose that protection – even on an IFR flight plan – on a Z or Y plan (obviously) and you also lose it when going OCAS even if your IFR clearance apparently remains in place.

For example, coming from say Germany back to Shoreham, I might drop out of CAS around DVR (CAS base 5500ft) and if there is a Red Arrows show at SFD, I might bust it because once I am released by London Control to descend out of CAS and asked to change to next frequency (Shoreham) nobody has any obligation to warn me of that TRA. The show is in Class G and there is no obligation (in the UK) on anybody to offer any service in Class G (apart from ICAO FIS, which in the UK is limited and non-radar). A pilot from Belgium did this a few years ago and got a GBP 5000 fine. In this respect, IFR in Class G is same as VFR – you have to look after yourself.

This issue is easy enough to address by getting enroute notams. I use a UK NATS site which is free to register and works worldwide. I use the Narrow Route Briefing feature which accepts a normal ICAO flight plan route spec.