tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107459738298748232024-03-26T21:56:22.471+01:00Full Thr0ttle!Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.comBlogger100125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-73066169262227049742014-07-21T05:13:00.003+02:002014-07-21T05:16:51.759+02:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0KKk2VuIZ6jFwXAjSF4QsIui9a3yrgXE0qALqp_etn9QlQcv8nZjO3JXX58x-rUZ_8EwAFLQpYbTrDEj93AC9P7HfLgakuj6CMZ0wMvnjHmXd4gBZxjRvcpH0gXp-PCGyn0QEr0gI6NGn/s1600/10257538_10203714214122779_8215405049105465520_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0KKk2VuIZ6jFwXAjSF4QsIui9a3yrgXE0qALqp_etn9QlQcv8nZjO3JXX58x-rUZ_8EwAFLQpYbTrDEj93AC9P7HfLgakuj6CMZ0wMvnjHmXd4gBZxjRvcpH0gXp-PCGyn0QEr0gI6NGn/s320/10257538_10203714214122779_8215405049105465520_o.jpg" /></a></div>Hi there, since my blogstats are showing there is no longer that much visiting "traffic" on this blog for the past few months now, I think I may be putting the updates overhere on hold for a while. After all, I have reached that milestone now of which I was talking & dreaming at the very beginning of this story. However, before just shutting down: a last update. After 8 months in de United States I must admit that life is great and I discovered many new horizons both in aviation and in meeting quite some interesting people overhere. I am so happy I could finally quit my previous (non-aviation) job and fulfill part of my (American) dream overhere. Meanwhile, close to 10 written exams and checkrides later, I am the proud owner of a double CPL rating (EASA/FAA) and flight instructor rating (EASA FI/FAA CFI). On top of that: finally getting paid now to fly instead of pay to fly feels like a relief!
I know I am lucky since many of my former colleagues and people I know in Europe are still having hard times getting enrolled. I had tough times too in getting hired so I truly know how sad that feels ("been there, done that"). But finally and luckily I now live the dream. So, I sincerely wish all those still out there the best in finding that cockpit seat waiting for the professional! I hope those "better times ahead" they keep talking about will be quickly coming true. Who knows I maybe may be (re)training you in a near future and would in that case really look forward to learn you through drill and skill to become one of those to whom the skies are not the limit but their second homes!Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-89081737232754142242013-12-22T23:17:00.002+01:002013-12-22T23:19:37.950+01:00The update long waited for...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-P9Q8OYmLOzmE9YJ6NTUqwzj-K6_QpLtNu1qJhhyzLtK-Is58BsUhJ6sRMAoJ7uFq3u804O4W4xLMEIdhfLp2IlukH1h3ORmb7nuOcbDdm-ZZvmhcLNj8_DWTecEMx0giSISlcedTx64O/s1600/oxford.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-P9Q8OYmLOzmE9YJ6NTUqwzj-K6_QpLtNu1qJhhyzLtK-Is58BsUhJ6sRMAoJ7uFq3u804O4W4xLMEIdhfLp2IlukH1h3ORmb7nuOcbDdm-ZZvmhcLNj8_DWTecEMx0giSISlcedTx64O/s200/oxford.jpg" /></a></div>
Dear blog-followers, I kept many of you waiting again for too long. However, I have quite some news to tell you and after all that's just the rewarding part for your patience I guess! It all started back in February when I applied for a vacancy as a Candidate Flight Instructor for CAE Oxford Academy... and got hired! Since I graduated from a FTO with comparable but still different SOP's, I was trained according their standard operating practices.
Just as like a drivers instructor, a flight instructor - and certainly one in the first flight familiarization programme - is used to getting people next to him with very little flight experience.<br />
During training I discovered that - just as it happens to be when driving a car - one gets easily used to the "art" of flying: an engine power setting is no longer nervously looked after but just heard (and finetuned), it doesn't almost require any effort to trim for straight and level and just sit back and relax, ATC is like your second mother tongue, etc. However, a good flight instructor should be aware of the mistakes made in the earliest stages of a professional pilot's career. And that's what I was trained for during the 160+ hours of both practical & theoretical training I received from pro's.
If I tell you "30hrs of VFR-training" and combine that statement with "Belgian meteo"... you will immediately make the link to "far more than average time required to finish such training". Flight cancellations and marginal weather than smooth weather & good outside references for like 60% of the year? Affirm thát! Although, that's what I have had for the last 8 months. However, it has been worth the patience. Only a few weeks after obtaining my EASA Flight Instructor Licence, I found myself aboard a triple-7 inbound Phoenix, AZ. It might not be my final destination but for at least the next 2 years, I am looking forward to train young and motivated guys and girls towards high level & quality standards they will need in their future careers as airline pilots. I still remember myself, staring at the wall maps & floor globe during geography classes... dreaming about how it would be to fly over vast & remote areas, how I admired those captains out there that started their career teaching pilots in the USA... and look where that all ends up for me so many years later. But before I forget: first things first. I am currently in my small office somewhere in what used to be the Arizona Desert about 100 years ago, studying hard to obtain all FAA ratings needed to be able to instruct over American territory. Next step will be obtaining my CPL & IR ratings, both preceded by a few theoretical tests as well as some local & crosscountry dual & solo flying.<br />
<a name='more'></a>Sure there will be some stuff ahead to share with you guys on this blog! And it won't take that long no more... so keep an eye on it! ;-)Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-57344667938051886552013-06-21T12:12:00.000+02:002013-06-24T16:32:19.712+02:00Return to paradise...I remember quite well a sunny summer's day in 2010... after a few hours of cruising in a "greenhouse"-glasscockpit DA40 on a training flight along the coast of Normandy, I finally set foot on what seemed to be - from the cockpit at least - a very cosy Channel Island! However, since flight planning had rostered another crew on the same plane in the late afternoon that day, we didn't find ourselves strolling along the happy people on Jersey beaches. It was more like a RyR-style quick turnaround with just enough time to have the wingtanks filled again as well as our empty stomachs with some fresh coca-cola and a cheddar sandwich.
But I left the island that time fully determined: I wóuld come back... and it would not just be for a quick turnaround!
So, June 5th 2013... finally me and my crew were waiting... packed and sacked... for a VFR-flight... with splendid weather over Normandy... intense IFR at my ADEP & ADES... I was hoping that the seafog would keep its promise, as stated in the 6h TAF, to disappear. Idle hope it seemed... and to experience that the Channel Islands are as prone to seafog as they are to subtropical sea currents. However, next day, things looked a lot better: CAVOK from start to end, a firm tailwind... in the destination runway axis!
As Jersey is a non-Schengen zone, we had to pass customs in Belgium, what made me decide to ferry the plane to Ostend Airport earlier that week. After a smooth takeoff in the reliable PA28 Cadet we found ourselves, coated in bright yellow life vests, soon leveling off at FL45 before traveling across the French border abeam 'Dunkerque'. On it went to Boulogne, next Abbeville (a stable and straight leg, perfectly well suited for an inflight lunch ;-)), overhead the cliffs at Etretat, Deauville... and finally, after checking the ATIS, requesting Brest Info for a QSY to Jersey Zone, where, near St-Germain, we were welcomed in 'posh' English to enter via the Island's Southeast corner, as expected with RWY 09 in use. A splendid opportunity for the crew and myself to have some real sightseeing already on places we would visit the next hours & day.
After unloading the "cargo-hold" :-p, refueling & securing the plane, completing the paperwork and calling home to tell them we were all safe and alive... I soon found myself jumping from left- to right-seat steering in the rental car to have some splendid time discovering the beautifull scene and delightfull Jersey Island seafood. I was quite speachless about the stunning panoramas discovered and so happy to have finally made it quite a bit further now than just the coca-cola-with-sandwich at the bar in Jersey Aeroclub a few years ago.
As usual... the time to return comes much quicker than expected. On the way back... the favourable tailwind had turned into a nasty headwind... and despite a few shortcuts enroute, it took me about 10' more of engine time to have us back in Ostend.
Nevertheless it was a short hop onto the island, sure I will remember it as an amazing trip to paradise! And you, no inspiration so far for a summer trip to the sun? Well, I hope you do have now!
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7p7kUs1vJIz90OkuZOD3N1OHMa-hz91zvVniy_GoFP2Fj9KqeC2a_MVhh8GpaPUxyGrfjH3vfMUwsSXlZX0Y2feM9PSkt56Ug6X5tCZx6ZLn9GeWBk2WrltM3qowzjA7P0nLkZ-44k7g/s1600/601014_10201339064065512_1499662853_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7p7kUs1vJIz90OkuZOD3N1OHMa-hz91zvVniy_GoFP2Fj9KqeC2a_MVhh8GpaPUxyGrfjH3vfMUwsSXlZX0Y2feM9PSkt56Ug6X5tCZx6ZLn9GeWBk2WrltM3qowzjA7P0nLkZ-44k7g/s320/601014_10201339064065512_1499662853_n.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsqM4pEVNj30AtKLNl6BkOrCMSFnUXkfUyliflJt4cmmQ6bMkY8GMFw8GD1FOEQODgXiz8IyzauXOFurWWETUal-mTnklSqAKdDCoh39ioIDxciP2jhrS2Ybugj6oytzwvUy9BTmmraC5R/s1600/941888_10201339065225541_304029839_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsqM4pEVNj30AtKLNl6BkOrCMSFnUXkfUyliflJt4cmmQ6bMkY8GMFw8GD1FOEQODgXiz8IyzauXOFurWWETUal-mTnklSqAKdDCoh39ioIDxciP2jhrS2Ybugj6oytzwvUy9BTmmraC5R/s320/941888_10201339065225541_304029839_n.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHKG4g6HaQsUygRY29HDvYJlC0HJdU1Duar6nriHZuIja7IAnSuA9_nZA7n39u43YCk5pyX82Zm4txKrtEUobkfeSZJ7NTBMoBZHTmjVPwcWG45G-bBLP3OxPpyY0yzCLZFwcL1V6rjH7A/s1600/992926_10201343837224838_1241116270_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHKG4g6HaQsUygRY29HDvYJlC0HJdU1Duar6nriHZuIja7IAnSuA9_nZA7n39u43YCk5pyX82Zm4txKrtEUobkfeSZJ7NTBMoBZHTmjVPwcWG45G-bBLP3OxPpyY0yzCLZFwcL1V6rjH7A/s320/992926_10201343837224838_1241116270_n.jpg" /></a></div>Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-63534768350253984562013-01-17T15:09:00.000+01:002013-01-28T18:09:12.768+01:00White-out, fly in! ;-)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxwQ5RwreIenVR1ZX_IMNy1UOIoE2RUp2j2NImkGMDal56Si9cAVbAY6yxWuELmmRBPlSsKA7kGRVooPhkw6oB-4WbC4WFUJboQkjpmBeVs9RcHKlhAfTMi7VHkQcU0f3arW0mOL_8XlyO/s1600/295443_10200475949368184_789127340_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="160" width="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxwQ5RwreIenVR1ZX_IMNy1UOIoE2RUp2j2NImkGMDal56Si9cAVbAY6yxWuELmmRBPlSsKA7kGRVooPhkw6oB-4WbC4WFUJboQkjpmBeVs9RcHKlhAfTMi7VHkQcU0f3arW0mOL_8XlyO/s320/295443_10200475949368184_789127340_n.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr788rVPeQc6Q-GKGOkaML2HBUp7mwSmuf_z3lvUDPmwPxji7epTkC-u4dlcq9jKZ0JDsqzk_e3EWV5gdhjiTfwThWSqHekdEN-SYHKG6Gsz9JDUKhT_qfNotK1kSKGjiTtBFJTeYV-DuC/s1600/309972_10200469178718922_430411324_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="160" width="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr788rVPeQc6Q-GKGOkaML2HBUp7mwSmuf_z3lvUDPmwPxji7epTkC-u4dlcq9jKZ0JDsqzk_e3EWV5gdhjiTfwThWSqHekdEN-SYHKG6Gsz9JDUKhT_qfNotK1kSKGjiTtBFJTeYV-DuC/s320/309972_10200469178718922_430411324_n.jpg" /></a></div>
Hi there!
No things more relaxing than a layer of stable and cold air to fly in, enjoying a snow-scaped surface below. That's what I thought last weekend. So I didn't hesitate to call a couple of friends for a long time begging me to have them taking a few shots of their homes and neighbourhood from my plane near sunset. And guess what... they were so happy! But I have to admit I also was, to get back to were I belong - or didn't I tell you yet that the sky feels like my second home?
Four-leaf clovers are known all around the world for giving the finder good luck and fortune... I have found mine! And I wish forrrrr... many job openings in commercial aviation in 2013!
Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-15522118328386597712013-01-02T12:05:00.002+01:002013-01-02T16:46:09.702+01:00Best Flying Wishes for 2013!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr_Qs5hWVeo_VH_AAfvSLydb3ABQdKBkQODNJMBRnKypcw7euIpd3IKRxi46UrWAA8tjhI3VOTG-A0Frnv8YVhsfHapq4XK-tvUwNOBnzdpu7LwG8TlARZJiEW3h7Fc_2AVG0db3ilSMQC/s1600/864b00c254c411e2b93522000a1f96b2_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="150" width="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr_Qs5hWVeo_VH_AAfvSLydb3ABQdKBkQODNJMBRnKypcw7euIpd3IKRxi46UrWAA8tjhI3VOTG-A0Frnv8YVhsfHapq4XK-tvUwNOBnzdpu7LwG8TlARZJiEW3h7Fc_2AVG0db3ilSMQC/s320/864b00c254c411e2b93522000a1f96b2_5.jpg" /></a></div>First of all, a happy new year to everyone tuning in here for the very first time in 2013! With all counters reset and a new start being given, I would like to wish all those desparately looking for a job mileshigh best of luck this year! I was told 13 is a lucky number...
Agreed, it has been quite a while since the last time I spent a few moments to updating my blog. But - right guess indeed - no big revelation in aviation occured to me ever since. Except being found medically fit to fly for another year last september, yet another savings investment into a couple of IFR-hours on the Twinstar, some local VFR flying in scarse CAVOK weather over Flanders and reading about aviation theory, not that much happened.
Busy times however in my job as a teamcoach/engineer. Since my company is releasing a new product around april this year, I have been busy preparing my department to cope with the proces-milestones and project deliveries. So I did spend quite a lot of time brainstorming on the jobfloor, in project meetings, at my desk... Apart from a huge amount of (re)engineering flows that also included recruiting quite a lot of new profiles and promotions of coworkers under my lead on the right time/place. Are we still speaking about a jobcrisis in Europe? ... however... in European aviation, it's not a big deal at the moment, unless you were elected as a 21-year-old to work for Ryanair to find yourself next to a 25 year old captain. But as air traffic is booming in evolving new markets (Asia, Africa, South-America), I hope one day soon these markets will open opportunities in Europe or abroad to quality pilots with sufficient experience in life. Meanwhile, apart from studying these new market's foreign languages, I may start to focus on a flight instructor course this year as to keep in close touch with quality flying. I'll keep you guys updated on that item. But so far it only comes to tasting commercial aviation, as I did very recently on the jumpseat aboard a regional commuter to southern Europe, which was a great experience and an apotheosis to another great year of flying! Picture up left has been taken at the start of the decent to our destination airport.Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-17397562680900914292012-08-17T18:13:00.001+02:002012-08-19T13:49:53.167+02:00About: still alive and kicking, still hoping & being re-rated <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ-iFwEGq7Zw98n_X3xQbK8sTZCh3KA09Ns5Dnpxj6oNjP0eNufnOE1WIXEDP-PPN8x4YZX5FqDq3dCgkrulH4oLMww6czEkdaG9QhBEWotwbihtREBaUOdAkYUvmEY3_JnPGAtZl24Ucd/s1600/_DSC1628S.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ-iFwEGq7Zw98n_X3xQbK8sTZCh3KA09Ns5Dnpxj6oNjP0eNufnOE1WIXEDP-PPN8x4YZX5FqDq3dCgkrulH4oLMww6czEkdaG9QhBEWotwbihtREBaUOdAkYUvmEY3_JnPGAtZl24Ucd/s320/_DSC1628S.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> A few weeks ago I was sharing a table and a drink with a few captains that I use to meet at the flying club from time to time, wondering what stops airline companies from hiring young potentials. Modesty is a good virtue off course but I can say experienced people I am flying with do appreciate both my (cockpit) management skills and safety behaviour. And I am far from alone... a large group of highly qualified but - alas - low houred pilots is desparately looking for a job, putting a lot of money into staying current both in practice and knowledge. Nevertheless, there ís a market with quite a lot of job openings for cockpit crew... but one has to manage to gather a few hundreds or thousands of hours "on type" first. So, whatever time you spend on board of a well equipped glass cockpit plane or just the basic IFR trainer that you can afford as a jobseeker doesn't seem to count anymore these days. If only a decade ago I would have graduated, I would currently quite certainly be amongst those happy guys cruising airways many thousands of feet above from where I am writing this post on my blog. However, these captains whom I was sharing a table with, did encourage me not to give up since there are signs of revival in some parts of the world and larger companies start to lower their high hour-limit, which may be a sign of an increasing demand for crews. I wouldn't mind to move to a remote area or a booming new market... a good pilot "acts locally but thinks globally", isn't it? So, uncertain yet when or where a chance might be popping up, I did leave the captains' table with a slight feeling of hope and pinned a date to perform my ME/IR recheck which I successfully performed last week during a cross-border exam flight. Off course, and fellow blog-followers would admit, a post here on this blog wouldn't be a good post if it didn't come with a stunning picture as a finishing touch. This one was taken during the return trip of an IFR flight to LFAT, where my crew and myself were enjoying a magnificent sunset at flight level 090. As much as many of you, I do hope to return with some good news on this blog one day, although meanwhile I do keep enjoying good times in general aviation off course!
Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-77334876434998987402012-03-28T19:39:00.012+02:002012-04-11T21:13:06.608+02:00IFR to Hamburg<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Ig5YPstK9vAPTqhUDYrkg_q_cxWkqsEI3e4eOEr4FhSVEmh-YDevD1NrgxZKy2FzuDh8OC9kGdOPZJkgtSkMIhjtJBfx5Xla-UZAnPjVMVm2KBN94UFZOrEZ2H1ZVAgYCKtvS6uWufxw/s1600/537210_3613340699079_1440646302_33338346_339512336_n.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Ig5YPstK9vAPTqhUDYrkg_q_cxWkqsEI3e4eOEr4FhSVEmh-YDevD1NrgxZKy2FzuDh8OC9kGdOPZJkgtSkMIhjtJBfx5Xla-UZAnPjVMVm2KBN94UFZOrEZ2H1ZVAgYCKtvS6uWufxw/s320/537210_3613340699079_1440646302_33338346_339512336_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729060149323885778" /></a>... besides some little airwork, mainly to stay current and save some money for the larger trips to be done this year, last months have been quite calm if it came to flying. Nevertheless, last weekend I took the Diamond 42 on an IFR-trip to EDDH (Fühlsbüttel airport, Hamburg, Northern Germany), where I shot this overhead picture of EHAM (Schiphol) while repositioning for Echo Echo Lima VOR. No job in aviation so far after almost 2 years of graduating and spending another pile of euros into remaining current... The longer it lasts, the more regrettable it gets... and it sure did hurt hearing all those lucky commercial guys on the frequency again. If even splendid references & a flawless track through the ATPL training @ flight school while doing a fulltime job do not seem to count nowadays, I wonder if it's still worth the effort investing all my savings into just remaining current... However, so far... the call of the skies and a slight hope for better times ahead in commercial aviation do prevail.Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-6271626932182728382011-12-19T22:24:00.008+01:002011-12-23T14:45:37.676+01:00Winter wonderland... [EBAW - LFQQ - EBAW]<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4cjAEVZApfI-L3QGAdbEZfAsx32JWs-QNuMIIZk9OF3CEMYCgc5S1RA7suELeui7w56Qca7DseYeJEKbgTydRww0jh1-90VKhCNz4egB3hTiBe56H0AmP04LyyC84Ez5AZwPG_UA-F4rh/s1600/2011-12-18+001+005.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4cjAEVZApfI-L3QGAdbEZfAsx32JWs-QNuMIIZk9OF3CEMYCgc5S1RA7suELeui7w56Qca7DseYeJEKbgTydRww0jh1-90VKhCNz4egB3hTiBe56H0AmP04LyyC84Ez5AZwPG_UA-F4rh/s320/2011-12-18+001+005.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688713664929754098" /></a> At 05h30 this morning - a bit later I guess than it usually does in a commercial pilot's daily life looking into an early shift - my alarm clock snatched me out of a deep sleep. That went rather well.. since I had great plans for the day! Intentions: an IFR flight across the French border and back, where I would fly the first leg and a friend of mine the return trip. Since the prevailing winds on our flight planned flight levels were western to northwestern, the plan was to fly a south- resp. northbound track as to both having about the same crosswind conditions (read: fair part of both flying & paying half of the plane rental).<br /> <br />A quick check of weather and notams showed me no items that could turn this flight into a no-go. Besides tempo PROB30 SHSN with BKN0500 the weather at our departure & destination airports was very suitable and met the minima for my planned non precision approach.<br /><br />Arriving in the hangar near sunrise - almost sliding over the apron covered with a layer of glazed frost - we found the plane to be insufficiently fueled for the flight. So after the walkaround & startup, we carefully taxied to the fuel station. And care was needed since even Antwerp Ground warned us for "very slippery conditions on the movement area". <br /><br />About 45' later with flight plans filed & confirmed, clearance copied, departure briefed, all items up to the "before takeoff checklist" completed, I was gently steering the DA42 to the Bravo 2 holding point at the 29'er end of the runway. With a Piper Archer on long final and us holding short I had more than time enough to skip through the before takeoff checklist, controlling both engines' ECU's, the controls, the electric elevator trim, the seatbelts still fastened & canopies closed. Cleared for takeoff I taxied the plane to the very beginning of the RWY (cherishing every extra meter of concrete available ;-))... pressure on the brakes, load 100%... releasing brakes... unleashing the beast... to be airborne a few seconds later. How grrrrreat! NIK2C departure and recleared for a direct to CIV VOR (thank you Brussels... any cost-conscious pilot liiiiikes shortcuts ;-)). <br />The same "hospitalité" on Lille Info with a "Daairect LimaLima and contact mie forrr zze dezzent". FL060, IAF to be entered @ 2000 feet... so that would require me to put the top of descent at about (3 * 4) NM = 12 DME [flying a cruise descent @ 145 kts with the DA42 I use to add another 2 NM]... so... at 14 DME. That's exactly where we received the clearance for our descent after asking so.<br /><br />The kind question if we'd have preferred radar vectors for the ILS on RWY 26 however was responded with a "negative" from my side since I had put a "full procedure locator ILS RWY 26" with racetrack entry on my personal TO DO list. We were asked which was the latest ATIS we had received since that one warned for patches of ice on the runway in the touchdown zone. We had indeed received this ATIS and already discussed during the approach briefing to land the plane very smoothly, not applying brakes in the first RWY segment (an option since RWY 26 at Lille Lesquin is way long enough for a Twinstar to come to a stop without braking...) and perform a go around in case of any slip-behaviour at touchdown. However, conditions were way better than in Antwerp and I safely put us on the ground, slightly ahead of the planned landing time [at RyR they would play the Jihaaaa-tune but we just kept it silent ;-)]. <br />After a taxiback during which airport services deiced the suspected part of runway, I was cleared for my request to perform another 2 lefthand circuit VFR approaches... as to obtain my 3 landings in this marvelous plane and be able to carry passengers if there may be some knocking on my door the next 3 months ;-). During the return leg I offered my services as pilot monitoring... but next to having an eye on the instruments and a couple of ears against the headset, I found some time to take pictures of Winter Wonderland below us... to be shared with you off course, dear Blog-visitors!<br /><br />ps: if some of you would wonder how things are going concerning my career as a commercial pilot... well... stiiiiillllll looking for thé job while doing a job ;-). The fact that I am not the only one looking around and sending loads of applications is just a poor solace :-(.Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-15608732606165623592011-09-30T21:09:00.015+02:002011-10-22T01:32:41.956+02:00Living an aviation-jobseeker's life<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqFZBi8NbBboKVUC5uMCsq78lDkYrm8cx7am1wXz7qkS2c8uJ7gI4xnlgCITXdTZh_coK-zlPWAbAYvIfGZ6XxpveDVQz_tSm2j1k-gpILG-6NUbH33enl2HcxY9d8HM_09I5H8u2VnbZY/s1600/NightFlight.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 182px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqFZBi8NbBboKVUC5uMCsq78lDkYrm8cx7am1wXz7qkS2c8uJ7gI4xnlgCITXdTZh_coK-zlPWAbAYvIfGZ6XxpveDVQz_tSm2j1k-gpILG-6NUbH33enl2HcxY9d8HM_09I5H8u2VnbZY/s320/NightFlight.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658238362797428530" /></a> Today I am celebrating my ATPL-licence's first birthday... it's quite a modest party however since so far I spent a lot of money into just... air!<br /><br />I am still quite devoted to shiftleader-ing the logistics department @ Volvo's largest European Truck plant. The daily challenges in controlling the goods flow from delivery to line address, coaching 130 people, assisting in the building process of about 192 trucks a day all together are quite attractive and days lasting longer than 10h spent in the plant are no exception. However, staring at contrasting contrails in sunny skies at sunrise or bluesky evenings and often sitting behind the Piper Archer stick in the aeroclub as well as flying the magnificent DA42 G1000 Diamond TwinStar on IFR-trips from time to time... I dó realize that my real challenge, dream and aim still lies behind the stick!<br /><br />But no dream to realize without a valid license off course! So, as mine was about to expire, last Tuesday I took place in the left seat of a DA42, next to a very wise and experienced examinator to demonstrate if still all goes well with my multi-engine and IFR abilities. About 100 minutes later, after a few interceptions & holdings at a local VOR as well as a vectored and full procedure ILS approach and a non-precision 2 NDB approach combined with a tastefull mix of simulated engine failures and recoveries followed by touch-and-goes, go arounds and finally a full stop landing... I was officially declared very-well-suited to maintain my license for another year ;-) and encouraged not to give up in proceeding my aviation-jobseeker's life. <br /><br />Sometimes that's easier being said than done. However, if we may believe Boeing & the Chinese, 180 000 cockpit seats are to be reserved for pilots the coming decade. Hopefully not as well as we should have believed that a húúúge amount of captains would retire worldwide as from 2009, creating great opportunities for cadet pilots... actually leaving many of those [young] men without a job in 2011. Well... let's wait and see, enjoying an... aviation jobseeker's life! Although, sometimes, I do not understand why companies, requiring motivated and qualified pilots still seem to think they can only find those amongst these guys who have a flying experience of over 500, 1 000 or even more hours... minimum requirements that one, just being graduated from a flightschool, is far from able to comply with.<br /><br />But sure, although not yet being payed for the job and often wondering why, I do try to enjoy beautifull panoramas from time to time such as the one seen from the left seat last Tuesday at sunset during a ferry flight to Antwerp [Belgium]. The "dark spot" you see portside is a vast, unbuilt piece of Belgium called "the Northsea" ;-)Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-71806408134498621802011-04-15T17:04:00.009+02:002011-04-17T16:36:13.624+02:00So far, [not] so good...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-dLoS7gGQSbesgyhv-TfFh9a7FRHGwJOAobI7zVnl7MG2wLYblitexE8XzPJjmxvEaL_39kHv0tJTEub2DDu-F9voul_ACi1hK26VHbgT7CDxAAZAmbO5ylHYIlppFWZBWpKJz7_1ffWr/s1600/Luchtdoop+Elke+%40+Ursel+%28Januari+2011%29+Nr+057.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-dLoS7gGQSbesgyhv-TfFh9a7FRHGwJOAobI7zVnl7MG2wLYblitexE8XzPJjmxvEaL_39kHv0tJTEub2DDu-F9voul_ACi1hK26VHbgT7CDxAAZAmbO5ylHYIlppFWZBWpKJz7_1ffWr/s320/Luchtdoop+Elke+%40+Ursel+%28Januari+2011%29+Nr+057.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5595842505365526066" /></a> ... it has been 7 months ago now since I proudly obtained my ATPL licence after a few years of saving money, hard work in combining the ATPL Integrated training, obtaining the licence in a 36 month timespan, with a fulltime job as a nightshift leader in Volvo's Truck plant here in Ghent. Then I experienced this small setback, losing my job due the credit crisis that hit many of us quite hard in 2010... But I managed to survive as a night auditor in a 4-star hotel, allowing me to still work the night & fly the day and... find a few hours of sleep in between ;-). Due lack of holiday & colleague absenteism it happened that I even had to attend a couple of my ATPL theory exams after a night on the job. Hard times! But amazingly how the dream keeps you going, alive & kicking!<br /><br />And after that struggle there you find yourself in the middle of a huge crowd of very enthousiastic and young pilots looking for a job. Hoping ardently one of the many resumes sent gets spotted in between a pile of letters and gigabytes of emails. But so far, no positive news from the recruitment front. I did go to a job interview for a 6 month contract as a first officer with no option to extend... and a 21 000 Euros to be self funded [not really a problem if it would concern a good return on investment] but as the company could not even guarantee a minimum of hours on type and as I know how long it takes to earn that money back, I wisely decided not to sign an agreement.<br /><br />Does it really mean there is no work at all for pilots? No! There still is a lot going on in the skies! But... it seems most of the companies are very cautious in the way they spend their budgets resulting in the recruitment of experienced people only. I didn't see many vacancies where the minimum experience required on jet engines was below 500 hours... and since most of us, except perhaps the rich guy that flies daddy's jet ;-), leave school with about 200 hours on the prop-counter only... I think it's all been said.<br /><br />Am I too demanding? Well aaaahm... Am I willing to relocate for the job? No doubt, I ám! ... is there a way I may positively nod if a company would ask me to pay the bill of a type rating course in return for a decent contract? Yés again! Can I cope with hard working and heavy rosters? ... think you know the answer, don't you? Can I... ? Yes, I will, I can, I may, I ... in other words: I'm definitely not the most difficult person if it comes to human resources matters ;-).<br /><br />Maybe the lack of experience or... an unmotivated spirit? Well, I definitely did not throw my stripes in a trash can the day after I obtained my licence... nor did I put my flightbag in a dark and dusty spot on the attic. I joined a flight club to enjoy real life flying with enthousiastic passengers during sunny weekends. And every flight CV that leaves my desk contains a resume & reference letters pointing out my eye for detail, capacities as a coach, a respected teammember, experience in decision making, ... and so much more.<br /><br />So, wherever I could/can or saw/see an opportunity to get a foot on the doorstep of aviation, I tried to/will try. So far doors stay closed but I hope one day I find one open through which a can see that reaching hand. But in the meantime decisions have to be made to live a life, save some money, ... I am not the kind of person to sit and just watch, you see. That's why I've put those brackets around the "not" in subject... Things cán be good, it's just about how you focus ;-).<br /><br />Since a few months I am back @ Volvo now as a shiftleader and I must say I really enjoy my job as I did before, coaching people (I count about 50 "heads" in my team now but it will soon most likely expand), the daily challenges in the supply chain, the sometimes unpredictable though fascinating human spirit, ... But one should keep his dream alive and since mine was, is and will be aviation... I keep myself fully ready for the day on which I receive that call! Nevertheless: next September I will have my recheck and next medical. Not that I expect "surprises" (although... you never know). But if I wouldn't have found a job by then, I would consider a flight instructor course and try to make some money out of my "commercial" pilot licence that way.<br /><br />To be continued soon hopefully! It's all about to be spotted one day and being busy looking around in the meantime!Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-59734316890320423082010-10-06T19:07:00.006+02:002010-10-12T15:37:34.123+02:00Multi Crew Coöperation...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfftfwze1_kuRs-RSRjmUIG9MfJytHPo-dtXap5HBUqh4n63D8y_kE-TwYF_5Smp7WYiDT2HuYtm61zida21LB6Ac6qeUOVxtrNzwjihe9LTPIBQvRK9WmHgMLJodso_81jcafmhX_B_lv/s1600/MCC_Cockpit.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfftfwze1_kuRs-RSRjmUIG9MfJytHPo-dtXap5HBUqh4n63D8y_kE-TwYF_5Smp7WYiDT2HuYtm61zida21LB6Ac6qeUOVxtrNzwjihe9LTPIBQvRK9WmHgMLJodso_81jcafmhX_B_lv/s320/MCC_Cockpit.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524991411982542114" /></a>Since most airline companies require a student to prove jet flying skills in a multi-crew environment ánd to obtain the total amount of 115 hours of required instrument time for the frozen atpl licence, Ostend Air College schedules its students for a so called MCC-course (Multi Crew Coöperation).<br /><br />I chose for the Flight Simulation Company @ Schiphol, the Netherlands. Besides MCC they also provide type ratings, medical examinations, crew training, ... <br />We were lucky to have Mr Jongbloed - a retired and véry experienced captain on Boeing 747 as well as a talented instructor - assigned to us for the 5-day training on B737NG (the famous Next Generation plane manufactured by Boeing).<br /><br />As a jet flying is quite different from piloting a twin-prop DA42-size ;-)... the first session was focussed on plane and procedure familiarisation. Quite impressive how real-life it looks and feels in this full-motion simulator!<br /><br />During the subsequent sessions, as we ought to be feeling home in the 737-cockpit, we focussed on correct procedure and checklist execution during the different phases of flight... from "dark-cockpit" entrance up to full-stop landing at destination.<br /><br />I was impressed how smooth it feels to steer a plane that large and how stable it behaves even during the failure of an engine and theoretically a 50% power loss. But as I said, the aim of this course was "multi-crew" coöperation, so focus on how 2 persons together could turn the high workload in a cockpit into an achievable task. That is why each flight we were assigned a role as pilot flying or pilot monitoring, where the pilot flying would be able to focus on flying the plane while the pilot monitoring would support the latter in "monitoring" primary flight parameters as well as secondary indications that could point to abnormal behaviour of an engine or imminent danger somewhere. There really is a lot to tell about the highly educational content of this course... but that would take me to write a way too long article on this blog, which I'd better save for the die-hard interested people somewhere behind a beer and a bar ;-). Fact is that many approaches, landings, engine failures and fires, rejected takeoffs, ... later, I was handed over the "Certificate of satisfactory completion of the MCC" and that I left the building with an even bigger admiration for those men and women that manage to safely pilot millions of passengers and tons of cargo through the air each day in a safe way. Al this made possible by constructively coöperating in the small but busy and sometimes unexpectedly stressfull cockpit environment! Can't almost wait to play a role in this challenging story.<br /><br />With no doubt I would like to conclude this post with a special word of "Thank you very much!" to both father and son Jongbloed, who made the MCC course an unforgettable event in my pilot-career.Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-12535011637403639502010-09-14T01:40:00.000+02:002010-09-16T02:05:03.194+02:00Graduated!... last weekend was very busy. Since yesterday I had my final exam before graduating, I had to perform 2 checkflights with the "real" Diamond 42 to allow my instructor to evaluate my skills and put stress on weak points eventually.<br /><br />During the 3 hour flight we reviewed it all: from departure stalls, clean stalls, steep turns, one engine out circuits and landings, dead reckoning navigation and inflight diversion up to the IFR-work such as DME-arc, bearing and radial interceptions, NDB&VOR-holdings and IFR approaches both one engine out and all engines working. The verdict: fully ready and skilled for the exam!<br /><br />So Monday September 13th 2010, 15h50... the big moment... engines soon running and off I went with the examiner right-seated. Off course I was a little nervous since a lot depended on passing for this exam, my future career! But I can't say at all that I was dying from stress. After all, I had done these things so many times, why would I be afraid to fail? Off course, to stay focussed and alert is to be part of good airmanship. As far as I could objectively judge myself, it felt like all things went smooth and fine. Happily after all my examiner shared the same feelings and declared me fully passed on the exam after engine shutdown about 2 hours later. What a relief, loads of stress tumbling off me. That put a brilliant crown on 3 years of hard work. And yet it is not finished, in fact... it's just beginning. Time to start the jobhunt... after which I hope to get back to you with good news!<br /><br />I would like to end this chapter with a big "THANK YOU!" for all support received from my parents, sister, friends, employer(s) which supported my choice for a job above the clouds, ... and any body else who I may have forgotten. Thank you all!Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-88502950394442457022010-09-05T22:02:00.000+02:002010-09-16T01:40:27.952+02:00Line Operational Flight Training (LOFT)The one but last part of the ab initio pilot practical course at OAC consists of a few missions to be flown on the DA42 simulator as if it were "operational" flights, which means in fact "as-real-as-it-gets flights" from one European hub to another. That means that, to fly it close to reality, we are asked to attend the sime session fully prepared with actual weather, notams, navlog and validated [but not filed] flightplan. Concerning the last item, I think they would go completely mad at Euroncontrol if they would also receive simulator flightplans ;-).<br /><br />So, to get back to the item, over the last 2 weeks I flew a handful of missions during which I was confronted with things that may happen during a real flight. The aim is to see whether a student, being me in this case, can cope with high workload, sound decision making as well as correct usage of the emergencies and abnormals checklist, while maintaining safe control of the aircraft.<br /><br />The flight which I best remember is that one from Toulouse (Blagnac) to Geneva (Cointrin), where a radio reporter took place in the back seat of the simulator for an "inflight" interview of my instructor and finally myself... after I landed the aircraft safely with a left engine fire (simulated off course ;-)). <br /><br />Nice one also was the mission which took us on a flight from Barcelona (El Prat) to Nice - what's in a name ;-)... where a plane crashed on the runway at the moment I had passed the initial approach fix already. That off course resulted in a go around and diversion to... Cannes.<br /><br />Quite a challenge was the flight from München (Germany) to Salzburg (Austria) with a loss of oilpressure on my right engine near destination and the resulting loss of engine on fully established ILS with published circle to land approach on the opposite runway.<br /><br />I also did one from Brussels to Amsterdam and another one from Stansted to Rotterdam. Luckily after all we don't have to pay landing taxes in the sim ;-).<br /><br />... and my final CPL/IR check is coming very near now, which means the story that started almost started 3 years from now is almost at its happy end. Fingers crossed for my exam next Monday!Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-81879155206728627722010-08-16T18:36:00.004+02:002010-08-16T20:57:22.480+02:00Final countdown...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyy_cWShikP5AYAyAHVXgwznWffKLPjDNASyNpcaN45TFP6xOPKP__y6RctmCn5d-qZjwDg1aqvMdjsuQ9_bepyFJoTfyYgvU5neWeIYwCLRUSonQ8EjVy9tHy1Ba4KgBYRNGyFxb6Cbk5/s1600/thumbs+up.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyy_cWShikP5AYAyAHVXgwznWffKLPjDNASyNpcaN45TFP6xOPKP__y6RctmCn5d-qZjwDg1aqvMdjsuQ9_bepyFJoTfyYgvU5neWeIYwCLRUSonQ8EjVy9tHy1Ba4KgBYRNGyFxb6Cbk5/s320/thumbs+up.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506053928208430642" /></a> Last months have been a busy blend of performing my job as a night auditor, spending hours and hours in my car towards the airport, flying one mission after the other with the Diamond 40, running my household-business as well as trying to find some time for a power-nap in between ;-). It seems that I will be getting my master-degree in Time Management this year, hehe...!<br /><br />Yes, time has been flying and... so have I! Many of you may be interested what I have been doing between mean sea level and the highest flightlevel obtained so far (for your information: that was a FL090 on a CAVOK VFR-mission to Baden Baden airport [Germany, Black Forrest] last month). Well, let me explain to you...<br /><br />Since I obtained my first stripes last April, disregarding a few VFR-timebuilding missions, I have been mainly focussing on IFR-flying since my previous post. It all started with tracking of VOR (VHF omni radial) and non-directional beacons, as well as bearing and radial interceptions on these beacons... of utmost importance as correct tracking and intercepting, in combination with good airmanship when it comes to pitch & power control, can with no doubt be called a keystone to succesfull instrument flying. But yet it happens that an airplane is not in correct configuration to start an approach (too high, not within the 30° offset limit from the initial approach fix [point where the feeder route ends and the approach procedure becomes effective], too high mass for landing, ...) or that the aerodrome is not yet ready to receive it (traffic congestion, CB overhead, ...). In such cases there is the option to fly a pattern in the air while the time passes by, time which is needed to configure the aircraft for an approach or time for the CB to pass by or time for the congestion to fade away or ...<br />There are 2 patterns to be distinguished... they have about the same appearance but are slightly different: at first there is the so called "holding [pattern]". That one is to be found regularly at or near the initial approach fix and allows the aircraft to reposition to fly the correct outbound radial or bearing from the initial approach fix as well as it serves as a holding (stack) where aircraft keep on circling untill they are cleared for their approach or their EAT (estimated approach time) is reached. Apart from this one will also find en-route holdings on airways, some exist for instance at the North-Atlantic crossings to admit aircraft on their destinated NAT track at a pre-determined time. The second pattern is named the "racetrack" and is intended to allow time and space to reconfigure into the approach setting. Where flying a holding pattern takes 4 minutes, a racetrack lasts longer due the extra time to be taken on the outbound course. But it happens that for instrument approaches one must fly a racetrack to intercept a glide slope or to be able to descend at a "human" rate ;-). This is the case in Calais for example where the procedure for the ILS on runway 24 entry happens via the holding but the procedure itself is flown via the racetrack. <br /><br />At Ostend Air College a practice chapter of 19 missions with an average mission time of 2hrs aids you to turn all this theory into practice. It all takes a good start in the FNPTII DA42 simulator and soon the student finds itself behind the stick for the real stuff in the real airspace, mainly EBOS CTR & TMA. <br /><br />After the 20th mission, which is a progress check, I found myself back in the simulator to fly full procedure standard intrument departures, standard arrivals and full procedure approaches on EBAW, EBOS, EBCI, EBFN, LFQQ, LFAC, EBBR... a whole bunch of airports, you see. During these missions I learned how correct time management and application of the next-step-methodology (think ahead aloud in other words) turns what seems to be a complicated approach into a tasty bite. Now that I manage (or should so) to correctly read and perform approach plates, got skilled into preparing and giving approach briefings all those tasty bits & pieces get together into IFR-missions from one aerodrome to another across or within Belgian borders.<br /><br />Still ahead are a few multi engine sessions on the Diamond 42, line operational flight training in the DA42 simulator and final step: the multi crew conversion course next month. Well, final step... actually ánd hopefully it is just the beginning of a challenging and attractive career, that is what I aimed for at the start almost 3 years ago from now. Fingers crossed!Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-74205686590797035022010-06-01T05:18:00.007+02:002010-06-06T18:27:37.726+02:00More into advanced IFR...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYZ8xLH4WZvemUs-fQGMU-cDEeq6SrS3jaDxkyQMbe0pmMAmA2H5b48Gg-5uoOKoiatbDV1Japsfg5uvf8TdYfSfhWasqbZlGNaMDYH5cd2Wv9g9-JiQZkpEIByw7zv6C0qB7J2j38ao9O/s1600/airway1.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 293px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYZ8xLH4WZvemUs-fQGMU-cDEeq6SrS3jaDxkyQMbe0pmMAmA2H5b48Gg-5uoOKoiatbDV1Japsfg5uvf8TdYfSfhWasqbZlGNaMDYH5cd2Wv9g9-JiQZkpEIByw7zv6C0qB7J2j38ao9O/s320/airway1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477657660638897122" /></a><br />Just a small update on the ATPL-practice for now. Since my last post about basic IFR, I have been flying several sessions in the simulator focussing on VOR (VHF Omnidirectional Range) and NDB (Non Directional Beacon) interception techniques as well as flying DME-arcs (polygone arc flying based on Distance Measuring Equipment input).<br /><br />"Intercepting" stands for the technique of flying to or from a station on one of the 360 radials it is transmitting on. Depending on your location inbound or outbound from a transmitting station, a certain set of interception rules applies to fly the shortest distance and optimal angle to jump from an actual radial to a required radial. These rules do not take wind conditions into account so that's an extra point of focus during the training excercises. Keeping the wind in mind helps you to fly a compass heading which keeps you on the track to your destination.<br /><br />Radionavigation is of uttermost importance during IFR flights. While, during a VFR flight one keeps a visual reference on terrain, this reference does far from exist when flying in instrument meteo conditions or a very high altitudes with bad visibility as well as on remote locations. The focus is no longer the outside reference but the inside - artificial - reference in the cockpit. That's also where the importance of IFR comes into the picture by flying safely onto a structure of airways, determined by NDB- or VOR-beacons or a combination of these as well as a fix (virtual point determined by VOR-radial and DME-distance from a beacon) - see inset. As it comes to flying there's always a start and a stop... and since it would be useless to fly an airway safely without a guaranteed safe departure or arrival, IFR aerodrome approaches and departures are as well designed around strategically setup radio navigation beacons which guide the IFR aircraft from its airway track down to the final approach point where an ILS (instrument landing system) guarantees a flawless runway approach both in the lateral and the vertical.<br /><br />There is a lot to tell about this item. But as far as I have introduced it, you may have noticed that both the correct reading of cockpit radio navigation instruments as well as the accurate execution of an interception manoeuver is very important, even vital (... imagine what would happen if you make a wrong turn or get lost in reading your instruments in mountaineous terrain)!<br /><br />Next part in the IFR-practice will be a focus on entering and maintaining holding patterns...Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-44475213971613223342010-05-30T00:34:00.001+02:002010-05-30T00:36:47.909+02:00A single image tells more than a thousand words...... imagine what a movie can tell in that case ;-). Below a recording of a full stop landing I made on OAC's "home base", Ostend Airport. It's about 20h50 local time and we are on return from a time building mission to EBLG (Liège Bierset).<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RnNGk7go0Mg&hl=nl_NL&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RnNGk7go0Mg&hl=nl_NL&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-70588158754313483912010-05-16T20:47:00.002+02:002010-05-22T08:26:19.730+02:00Timebuilding LFAT (Le Touquêt Paris Plâge)I have been quiiiiiite busy last time, so only a few minutes left to maintain my blog. But especially for the club of fellow visitors, I just have this small post...<br /><br />Sunday May 16th I flew the leg Ostend - Le Touquêt with a co-student next to me. He grabbed a small cellphone with a superb camera and so was able to film the final approach & landing @ LFAT with me at the controls. Just sit back and relax...<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/iR7Z5tmwAKk&hl=nl_NL&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/iR7Z5tmwAKk&hl=nl_NL&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object>Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-62651436035414020392010-05-05T05:03:00.005+02:002010-05-05T07:56:13.374+02:00... into IFR basics.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX9HIplnlKnAFJL4fIID9P5uf4BJgX9sUK2flDv1GgvANca-kgOvHbcdRWuvWxoGdJIZ0SCt1ZBX_Bvw_8HTNONCZh4LprRK3TDAv0A07tmO_htbYEXfO0HOmbpnB_e4CKcq-mjGQgjpxc/s1600/PFD1.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 141px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX9HIplnlKnAFJL4fIID9P5uf4BJgX9sUK2flDv1GgvANca-kgOvHbcdRWuvWxoGdJIZ0SCt1ZBX_Bvw_8HTNONCZh4LprRK3TDAv0A07tmO_htbYEXfO0HOmbpnB_e4CKcq-mjGQgjpxc/s200/PFD1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467657383322284866" /></a> As from now, with the PPL licence in my pocket, for the remainder of my training I will mainly be focussing on instrument flying aka IFR ("Instrument Flight Rules"). While during a VFR flight a pilot keeps a visual reference to terrain, during IFR one should be able to fly the plane safely and correctly solely based upon instrument input. So, suppose that weather conditions are as such that a large part of flight takes place in dense clouds, an IFR rated pilot should be able to steer the plane from A to B in a safe way & complying with ATC instructions.<br /><br />When talking about flight instruments, 4 categories can be distinguished between which the pilot in command has to divide his/her scan flow...<br /><br />The most important category are the control instruments. They consist of the engine load indicator and the attitude indicator, part of the display unit which we refer to as the AHRS (Attitude and Heading Reference System) on our Garmin1000 Glass Cockpit (check the inset, a view on the PFD of Garmin 1000). In case of AHRS-failure there is the artificial horizon backup we could still use. <br />It says that "power + attitude = performance", meaning that the input from engine and controls determines the plane's behaviour in climb, descent, level flight & bank or a combination of these. During the eye scan of the instrumentation, not less than 70%!!! of total time is devoted to the performance indicators!<br /><br />A second group of instruments are the performance indicators, which consist of the speed tape, vertical speed indicator (VSI), turn & bank indicator, directional gyro component of the HSI & magnetic compass. These instruments are used to determine how the plane reacts on performance input and whether a change of performance input is needed to cope with the requested or desired manoeuver. For example: suppose a plane is required to descend at a rate of 500fpm to remain on the 3° glideslope of an ILS approach, the VSI would indicate if the plane performs well under the negative pitch angle visible on the attitude indicator. <br /><br />Off course it would be difficult to get from A to B in dense clouds without directives on where to go. That is what the third category of instruments is meant for: the navigation instruments. They consist of the ADF, SSR, VOR-LOC, DME, GPS, ...<br /><br />A fourth group are the engine instruments: fuel & oil indicators, temperature gauges, ... These are only checked let's say once every 10 minutes. They get very little attention and in case something abnormal happens, a pilot performing a correct instrument scan, keeping a close look at the control & performance instruments, would very quickly notice any abnormality... By the way, in a modern glass cockpit plane, the engine control unit would immediately display an appropriate warning or caution. <br /><br />This week I have been and will be flying a handfull of basic IFR missions on the FNPT II simulator. No "real" flights but nevertheless very interesting sessions to learn to manage and master the correct scanflow technique while flying timed patterns and simulated radar-instructions. At the end of my second session today we even did a GCA ("Ground Controlled Approach"), where my instructor vectored me down untill I had a visual on final below the cloudbase at 300ft after a 60 minute flight in IMC. Amazing IFR!Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-11361831775017347422010-04-28T20:30:00.003+02:002010-05-03T11:46:38.745+02:00PPL Exam passed!Today, April 28th will be known in my personal Aviation History as the day that I earned the first stripe on my shoulders in passing the PPL Exam! After exactly one hour and 48 minutes of flight during which I had to demonstrate about all skills that I had demonstrated during my progress check, diversion to overhead Amougies included, I shut down the engine... and received congratulations from the flight examinator for my "succesfull pass"! Yeah! I hope to find some time soon to get released one a plane of a nearby flight club to take the growing crowd of family, friends, blogreaders, supporters, ... up in the air! You will be noticed soon on how to book your flight ;-).Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-54369144100794255702010-04-26T10:45:00.001+02:002010-05-03T11:47:58.110+02:00PPL Progress Check...As you can see things advance well these days... only 2 days after my third preparation flight to the PPL Exam, I had been scheduled for the PPL Progress Check already! The weather has been just fine for the better VFR-work and by the end of the week, if the forecasting is correct, weather conditions will get worse (as usual after fair & classy weather :-p).<br /><br />... fine.. well... euhm... arriving at Ostend & left from under CAVOK skies overhead Ghent, it turned out that the METAR was right about the sea fog conditions over the coastline. Even the idea to leave Ostend TMA under IFR-conditions & perform the VFR-work in a fog free area overhead Flanders turned out to be impossible as the cloud base sank under 200 feet, the IFR minimums. With my PPL exam planned 2 days from now... I definitely wanted to get airborne within the next 48 hours to be able to do my PPL examination. Since the TAF forecast showed improvements for the 2nd half of the day & having a day off from work, I agreed with my instructor's proposal to remain standby. I was given priority on the plane and instruction... so as soon as the first sunrays would break through & cloud base would be high enough for a VFR departure, we would be leaving!<br /><br />2 hours later... around 13h00 LT, CAVOK! The seafog had gone as fast a it appeared, chased away by strong sunrays. To be able to receive a green flight and consequently a "go" for my PPL exam, I had to show my skills to the instructor during flight. So we started with the local circuit manoeuvers: normal circuit & normal landing, a landing with simulated deffective flaps - which I flew a few knots to slow first time intending to land the plane with the stall horn on while the aim should have been a positive landing at higher speed, 70kts instead of 65. After that a precautionary circuit, followed by joining righthand downwind to leave Ostend TMA for the airwork. It all started with some compass turns at 2000 feet, fairly close to the Eegem antenna. During the compass turn one should take the magnetic compass instead of the AHRS for a heading reference, knowing that a compass in the northern hemisphere behaves sluggish in northerly turns & jumps lively over southern headings (also known as the "never see north always see south rule"). As the compass turns were ok, we proceeded to the next item: the stalls... climbing to 3 000 feet near Roeselare where OAC had a training area located, I demonstrated my skills to recover from a clean stall (without flaps) & approach stall (with flaps landing). When recovering from a stall, one should increase throttle to full asap & pitch the nose only a few degrees underneath the horizon (10° maximum), to recover within an altitude loss of 100 feet only. First time, I pitched to heavy... making my instructor tell me not to fly the DA40 Worldwar One style :-p. We lost 150 feet, which is a bit too much. So, retry, check... ok! After that I was asked to look down and close my eyes while my instructor would bring the plane in an unusual attitude, telling me to open my eyes, define the attitude and recover. He had brought the plane into a spiral dive, almost instinctively I grabbed the throttle, going idle... applied rudder opposite to the turn & pitched up untill the blue horizon became back visible above the darkish brown terrain on my AHRS. All this while focussing on the speed tape, keeping it below Va. Recovery was satisfactory. <br />Next item: steep turns! First turn was a lefthand steep turn at 1 500 feet where I lost track with my horizon (the real one, not the artificial) having the plane pitching down... and dropping my altitude to 1 350 feet. So, a retry was necessary and turned out to be succesfull. Afther that a righthand turn as steep as the lefthand of which entry, fixing & rollout happened just fine.<br /><br />As the icing on the cake, a diversion practice couldn't be missing so close to Houthulst, I got the instruction to divert to the grass strip near Zuyenkerke. While my instructor took controls on a heading of 090 and an altitude of 1500 feet, I set out my track from a checkpoint north of Roeselare... heading 005, to be maintained and no noticeable wind correction needed since the wind was coming from 350. The instructor was satisfied about the heading & timing for the diversion track and ordered me to return to Ostend, tracking inbound Torhout. Fullstop landing & except for the small remark to keep focussed on the horizon during steep turns, I was cleared for the PPL Exam!Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-20730124558742786462010-04-26T05:33:00.000+02:002010-05-03T10:45:05.597+02:00PPL Preparation flight III, a solo mission.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. <br /><br />As I had once that <a href="http://fullthr0ttle.blogspot.com/2008/11/first-red-flight.html">mission</a> 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...<br /><br />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? ;-) <br /><br />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.Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-52423118723819651462010-04-25T01:46:00.001+02:002010-04-25T01:46:49.134+02:00Hole in the ashcloud & ppl preparation 2...With the ASHTAM still valid, but due to more favourable tropospheric conditions, the Belgium government released an updated NOTAM today, allowing VFR traffic to operate from controlled (and non-controlled) airfields provided that an airborne plane would not fly higher than 4 500 feet in VFR conditions. A perfect match with my flightplan, including some stall & incipient spin manoeuvers @ 3 500 feet as well as level navigation & dead reckoning cruising @ 2 000 feet.<br /><br />With a GAMET forecasting a 5kts variable wind up to 3000 feet and the vast "blocking high" still "overhead" Europe it promised to be a very relaxing flight. And indeed: the Diamond performed as cutting through soft butter, very easy flying after trimout.<br />... although the slant visibility was very poor. Let's say the volcanic ashes may have been part of the cause... but I guess the major source will always be us, human polluters down there, pumping a lot of rubbish into the skies!<br /><br />And about my flight: well, I had proposed the instructor that I would prepare a flight via the Poeke castle (a very beautifull castle in the neighbourhood of Aalter, East-Flanders, to Sint-Laureins, which is a small village near Eeklo, also located in East-Flanders (Belgium) near the Dutch border. With a request to surprise me en route with a dead reckoning navigation to a destination kept secret ("as real as it gets", you know... I keep remember how that was printed on the Microsoft Flight Simulator box that I used to open a lot during my younger years, yet a while ago :-p). And so he did... making a 360 overhead the Poeke castle, my instructor asked me to fly us to Langemark and pass overhead the WOI statute located on a roundabout in Poelkapelle. Langemark - Poelkapelle, that sounded West-Flemish to me so I asked my instructor to take controls and keep us level in a constant bank angle 360. That allowed me to comfortably "unfold" West-Flanders on my huge low air chart and start to look for the mark. Connecting present position & destination I decided to fly heading 250, corrected indeed for... exceptionally... no wind, using my prepared & plotted leg "Torhout-Poeke" as a time reference ruler. And off I went after informing Brussels about our diversion excercise. Passing overhead Roeselare, taking the ring & railway crossing north of Roeselare as a reference, the crosscheck showed we were perfectly on track. As I discovered that we were a little ahead of EET I decreased the engine load a little to speed down to a slightly-less-than-cruising-speed 108 knots. And finally the 360 over Langemark, next overhead the Poelkapelle statute, 11 minutes after start of diversion excercise. 11 minutes from Poeke to Poelkapelle, eat that! ;-)<br /><br />Last things on my 1h30 VFR-flight wishlist were a few practices of incipient spin (the excercise where you slow the plane down untill it starts its stall-boogiewoogie and force it into a wing drop by stepping on the rudder... off course followed by the ailerons-neutral-rudder-opposite-turn recovery within 300 feet altitude dropping... unless you wanted it to end on the graveyard ;-)). Next there was a simulated engine failure above 1 500 feet, so while slowing the plane down to its 73kts best glide speed I had to recall the engine restart procedure... which I simulated to fail ;) as I definitely wanted to practice my in-the-field-landing-skills. I couldn't resist to a rectangle-darkish-green-freshly-grown-cattle-free field on my front righthand side. The approach was a success and we would certainly have made it if flight rules hadn't been there forbidding a pilot to descend to lower than 500 feet, unless in case of emergency. So, at 550 feet, throttle forward... engines first mumbling then roaring, off we went. To Torhout this time, direction EBOS CTR with a request for landing to Ostend Approach.<br /><br />With the field in sight they let us switch over to the tower where I requested 1 touch and go and 1 full stop landing. The touch & go in flapless conditions, the full stop on short circuit... and since we were approaching on te 08, of which the holding is very close to the GA Apron... I requested my instructor to perform a simulated engine failure below 300 feet... landing just over threshold & saving fuel and hobbs time... you gotta be smart ;-).<br /><br />Instructor was happy, student pilot was happy, flight was fantastic. Looking forward to the next mission... which will be a solo flight allowing to prepare for the real stuff coming very near now: the PPL examination! To be continued...Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-31665318190749817132010-04-16T09:35:00.009+02:002010-04-17T08:49:16.493+02:00PPL preps... & first ASHTAM over Belgium!... next step will be obtaining my PPL-licence (aka single-stripe-on-the-shoulder ;-) ). To be well prepared for the examination, the OAC training schedule contains a few hours allowing the student pilot to focus on his/her weak points.<br /><br />But to be able to focus on ones weak points, these have to be determined first. That is why during the first PPL prep (Private Pilot Licence exam preparation), a student pilot has to perform all manoeuvers & demonstrate his/her skills to fly the plane according to the book. That is what I did yesterday... but but but...<br /><br />Oringinal plan was to set course to the castle of Poeke (near Aalter) & next to Sint-Laureins near Eeklo and the Dutch border since I had asked my instructor to focus on dead reckoning & lost-position plotting first. However mother nature decided differently. Since a few days a large and stable high pressure area has been extending over the Atlantic southwest of the UK bringing nice and fair weather to our area. Pérfect & very smooth training conditions if it were not the fact that the anticyclonic movement around this vast high pressure area is the perfect means to transport the Eyafjallajokul-volcanic-dust&stone-crap over large areas in Western Europe. Off course this cloud is as good as invisible and many many times thinner than at the location where it escapes from the volcano itself. But it is still there and apparently dangerous enough to cause damage to both propeller and turbine engines. That is why several European authorities (Finland, Danmark, Germany, Poland, Belgium, France, ...) as well as Eurocontrol have publised ASHTAM's (standardized message containing information to airmen about danger zones around erupting volcanoes). Since the dustcloud is covering a vertical area from groundlevel up to 35 000 feet (jetplane cruising altitude) that means nó flight can takeoff for the moment! ... that means total chaos! Thousands of people stuck on airports, pilots and planes grounded... and indeed: student pilots patiently waiting at home untill they get a message or phonecall to come over to the airport for their next mission ;-).<br /><br />But I was one of the lucky students that had about a small hour left and was already sitting in a smoothly running Diamond 40 at holding FOX in Ostend before the ASHTAM became finally valid over Belgium! I agreed with my instructor to postpone the dead reckoning part over Flanders and to focus on the circuit training part instead. With one hour left, we had plenty of time left to fly some normal circuits, short circuits, a few simulated engine failures overhead the field. And apparently the weather gods had accepted my request for crosswind because they delivered a steady 12 kts from the north so I could focus on crosswind landing technique. We had fun, happy landings and last but not least: parked the plane safely and volcanic-dust-protected in the hangar afterwards.<br /><br />For those that might be interested, I found this nice Skynews documentary showing a 737 being severely struck by volcanic dust (simulated off course & nice to see for worst-case-lovers ;-))...<br /><br /><object width="580" height="360"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/slmt8CIrTEw&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/slmt8CIrTEw&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="580" height="360"></embed></object>Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-20048892876756376982010-04-14T19:24:00.000+02:002010-04-16T09:35:25.050+02:00ATPL(A) theory exams finished!I promised to get back to you once I had my final exam results... so here I am:<br /><ul><li>Flight Planning & Monitoring: 85,9%</li><li>Mass & Balance: 82,4%</li><li>General Navigation: 78,7%</li><li>Human Performance: 89,6%</li><li>Radio Navigation: 78,1%</li><li>Airframe / Systems / Powerplant: 77,5%</li><li>Instrumentation: 81,7%</li><li>IFR Communication: 100%</li><li>Meteorology: 93,7%</li><li>VFR Communication: 95,8%</li><li>Operational Procedures: 89,1%</li><li>Performance: 92,3%</li><li>Principles of Flight: 90,9%</li><li>Air Law: 100%</li></ul>... and a grand total of 88,2%.Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710745973829874823.post-65853560201560869952010-04-04T16:26:00.004+02:002010-04-04T16:47:14.291+02:00Back in the land of the living...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheG72tzYB8jlZOreRKYeRoVPKMBUkJxPQ1PzifjxFSW6AXYnRE5-I-zzsufpxDxMNIHJ66371GiQumdrlCa1AV1FhgtDHKYTRwPtmMJhBBFMWOSvG61ZXnwqToiaN_uoYD5L5CDoAwHp4s/s1600/night_reception.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheG72tzYB8jlZOreRKYeRoVPKMBUkJxPQ1PzifjxFSW6AXYnRE5-I-zzsufpxDxMNIHJ66371GiQumdrlCa1AV1FhgtDHKYTRwPtmMJhBBFMWOSvG61ZXnwqToiaN_uoYD5L5CDoAwHp4s/s320/night_reception.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456288839739765586" border="0" /></a>Hi there<br /><br />I didn't die in a car accident, nor did I crash my plane on a remote island. It's just that I have been very busy for quite a while in getting all thousands of pages of ATPL-theory in my head, combining this "hobby" with a fulltime job again. After I lost my Volvo-job due to the economic crisis which hit & will hit many of us, I managed to find a new challenge as night auditor in a ****-hotel in Ghent city centre. I changed my Volvo-teamleader-shirt&tie for the stylish outfit you see on the enclosed image. Apparently it seems that "uniform-jobs" keep attracting me :-). If one day I can add some golden stripes on my shoulders, that would be very nice off course...<br /><br />Since I am neither the guy nor the specialist in learning questionbanks by heart, it really took any spare time left in my daily rushes to study over 3 000 pages of theory & prepare for the final ATPL(A) examination in Brussels, including liters of ink & meters of pencil making excercises, drawings, ... You should see my courses... they are só (ab)used :-). Except for one re-examination (Airlaw) that I will perform next Monday, I managed to succesfully pass for the remaining 13 subjects (which means scores between 78% and 100%). Once I have my final score, I will keep you posted. I was told that some companies refuse applicants that do not succeed for their examinations at once... which is a pity of course. But ok, if they are willing to take that guy succeeding due to just reading questionbank-books, let it be so then!<br /><br />Next item on my agenda will be the PPL-examination & the remaining IFR and twin engine hours as well as the cross country dual flights awaiting to destinations across France, Germany and even the Channel Islands. I promise to take my camera with me on these and take some shots or make some small movies when I will be pilot-non-flying.<br /><br />Although the time lasting has become short, I will be available any day as from now to spread my wings. After all having a job @ night is not bad at all!<br /><br />Some friends keep asking me when I will be able to take them on a flight over the barn... well, as far as my agenda allows, I am planning to join a flight club in august/september. Anybody willing to make a trip over Flanders and beyond (and willing to participate in the plane-rent), be my guest!Pieter Heezehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04989896612336936372noreply@blogger.com2