A student pilot says "Hello EuroGA"

Thank you guys! My next lesson on Saturday will be dual training again and specifically tackle my weaknesses. Monday I hope the flight to Hannover goes ahead as planned. Thereafter only a couple of lessons to the checkride. If all goes smoothly I should have my PPL by June

I_Love_Flying wrote:

Did you fly to Hannover in the end?

Trip Report Leer-Papenburg EDWF to Hannover EDDV

Despite still being in PPL training this was my first flight that was about more than flying itself. I had a fairly mundane appointment in Hannover but had the idea to combine this with some solo flight training, adding both experience and logged time for me. I am glad my instructor agreed to let me do this, as it meant the plane was blocked by me for an entire day.

The Aircraft used was our flight club’s 2016 built Aquila A211, callsign D-ERNY.
I went to the field at 7am UTC in the morning. My appointment in Hannover was scheduled for 11:15, but I wanted to avoid time pressure at all costs which is why I went that early. I prepared the plane thoroughly and filled the tanks to their maximum 109 liters. Pre-flight check didn’t show any issues, and I departed from runway 08 of my homebase at 7:57am. There was a light wind from the southeast, barely noteworthy. The METAR from the nearby airbase in ETNT read

09004KT 9999 FEW250 12/09 Q1023 BLU+BLU+=

so basically CAVOK. Hannover EDDV reported

10003KT 020V140 CAVOK 15/09 Q1022 NOSIG=

and their TAF was

TAF EDDV 220500Z 2206/2306 08003KT CAVOK BECMG 2206/2208 14005KT=

Perfect conditions for a VFR student solo flight!

Takeoff went smoothly and I left the traffic circuit on a direct course to Alhorn EDHA which I had chosen as a waypoint for orientation because it is easily visible in an otherwise unremarkable landscape. My instructor had urged me to rely on terrestrial navigation and use GPS only as a backup. I soon discovered that my set course carried me further and further away from the magenta line. When I reached the Autobahn A29 I figured out why: The GPS courseline was DCT to Hannover, but my map-plotted course was not (EDHA was not on a straight line to EDDV). Since I assumed that I couldn’t plot the last 15 nm or so in advance because Hannover ATC would direct me through one of their VRPs, the GPS line didn’t actually make the best of sense. So I flew to EDHA, correcting my course that way, and then followed the map course again, ignoring the GPS mostly. I cruised at 2000 ft the whole time. I was on Bremen Information (FIS), listening to the other traffic but encountered no traffic myself. Once over Nienburg I asked to change frequency to Hannover Tower, so that I could find out which way they wanted me to approach.
Hannover ATC sent me via their November VRPs, which are along the Autobahn A391 east of the airport. So coming in from the northwest, I had to fly parallel to the entire CTZ eastwards and then turn south. Before reaching the November 2 VRP I was cleared to enter left-hand traffic for the runway 09 left. On three or four occasions I didn’t immediately understand what the controller told me, so I asked “say again” a few times. I think they were perfectly okay with that, rather have the nervous student pilot double-check what instructions he recieved than have someone confirm things he didn’t understand at all.
Either way, I had descended to 1700 ft by that time (VFR approaches to Hannover must stay below 2500 ft all time) and entered the circuit at 1000 ft. During downwind I was cleared to land and once at the end of the 3200 m runway I immediately made a sharp left turn and landed almost perfectly on the touchdown marks for light aircraft. It was 09:21 UTC, so the flight took 1:24.
I vacated the runway at the next taxiway L, was then told to make a left turn and taxi to the GA Apron 2 via runway 09C. Nervous as I was, I taxied right past the follow me car waiting for me there, but I am fairly certain I had never heard any instruction to wait for a follow me.
Anyways, that was easily resolved and I followed the car into one of the many nice parking positions they have there. The driver then picked me up and drove me to the General Aviation Terminal (GAT). A nice little building it was. No checks on entry. The lady at the desk collected my landing fees, a mere 19€ for both the landing for a 750kg MTOW aircraft and parking for 24h combined (less than 3h is even less). Yes I recieved a discount as a student pilot but I still guess it won’t be much more for a fully licensed pilot. Very nice pricing for an international airport I reckon.
The lady then pointed me the way to the nearest S-Bahn (city railway) station and off I was. After 10 mins of walking I boarded the train at the station which brought me to Hannover central station in 25 minutes. Another 20 minutes by train from there plus another 10 mins of walking and I was were I had to be, 30 minutes in advance.

After my appointment, which took about 2 hours, I went back. The weather was still excellent as predicted, with nothing but a few fluffy CUs way above FL100 on the sky. I took a bus and then two trains back to the airport, in about 50 minutes. The day-ticket for the whole Hannover public transport network cost me 6,80€, not much either I think.
Back at the airport I walked to the GAT again and now had to go through a security check. This was easy though (I couldn’t show them a pilots license, but the Flugauftrag from my instructor plus my ID was sufficient) and the lady at the desk had already called another follow me car for me which was waiting outside when I was done with the check. I was back at my aircraft in no time:

I did a quick pre-flight check again and started the engine. No need to call GROUND or DELIVERY in Hannover for that. I then asked for taxi instructions and was cleard to backtrack runway 09C. I then messed up and taxiied in the wrong way, which simply prompted a “D-ERNY, you’re going the wrong way” from GROUND. I said “sorry” and turned around. Once at the holding point of runway 09C I reported ready for departure. GROUND had asked me which way I wanted to depart an offered me a direct to Nienburg departure, which was perfectly suited for my destination. They handed me over to TOWER and I recieved take off clearance without further ado. Take off was unproblematic again. I turned left straight away, leaving the airport to my left:

ATC gave me permission to leave frequency without me asking once I was clear of the CTZ. The return flight was a bit more bumpy because thermics had increased in the afternoon. I climbed to 4000ft once clear of D airspace, trying to reach a smoother layer of air, but to no avail. The view was nice though (city of Nienburg and river Weser):

I then followed radial 291 of the Nienburg NIE VOR back towards my home base. On the way I did a short detour because the town where I grew up south of Bremen was visible in the distance, so I decided to fly there and take a closer look. This prompted questions from FIS wheter I wanted to enter Bremen CTZ, which I declined. I stayed clear of the CTZ, took a few photos from my home town and returned to my old course, once again using Alhorn EDHA as a waypoint.From there I was back home in no time. Despite the detour, the return trip took 7 minutes less due to the direct course out of the CTZ.

Back home at EDWF:

So this was my first solo trip to a major airport. The flying itself was dead easy. Navigation too (I should have either used GPS alone or my maps alone, both was just confusing). Communication with ATC can get better, and it will (I used English only for practice, German might have been less of a problem as I need to focus less).
This might have been the most boring trip report any of you ever read but nevermind.

By the way Hannover itself is a nice city despite being called “Germany’s most boring city” by many, mainly southern Germans who have no clue anyways . While not the most exciting place, it has a fantastic transport infrastructure that gets you around the city without hassle and many sports and cultural venues. Hannover trade fair ground is a frequent destination for businesspeople from all over the world.