Since both PPL Prep 1 & 2 missions had been labelled "green" (which means "pass" indeed), for the third one I was unleashed for a 1h30-solo mission, allowing me the time to practice and focus on the weak points.
As I had once that mission where I got lost during my first steps in overland navigation (happily ever after with an instructor willing to bring me back on track in the right seat) and a few nightmares about this misstep, I had put a short navigation, diversion excercise included, on my personal wishlist. Just to make sure that the nightmare would not become true during my examination...
So I prepared & flew the track Ostend - Torhout - Overboelare (since I know this sometimes is some of the FE's favourite DR-spot it meant to be a perfect occasion for a preliminary field inspection overhead location). Keeping in mind that "somewhere" enroute I would divert to Hamme (South-East of Ghent) or Kluizen (North-East of Ghent). The final destination had to be decided in flight to make it... indeed... "as real as it gets". Since I had only 1h30' to fly the mission, I knew before that I would be unable to stick to the plan... a diversion was inevitable, but wasn't that the intention? ;-)
After a procedure turn overhead Overboelare near Geraardsbergen, I set course to Aalter, according to the plotted track on my map. But guess what, at about 8 minutes from Aalter compulsory, I was about to enter "imagined IMC"... so had to divert to Hamme. I decided to break off the excercise after a succesfull pass overhead 2 crosscheck points to have some remaining HOBBS-time left for local circuit excercises at EBOS (Ostend). Arriving at Ostend TMA, I had 2 6-minute-units left on my HOBBS-counter, sufficient enough to perform a simulated forced landing overhead the airfield & a short circuit followed by full stop landing & taxiing to the apron, well in time to hand over the plane to the next student, scheduled for IFR-holding training @ EBKT.
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