Post by Boxer6 on Oct 25, 2024 17:09:16 GMT
Herself is away for the weekend (again!) and for some reason felt I needed a little present to make up for it.
Which was, an hour in an A320 simulator!
Instructor (Daniel) and I had a wee chat before going into the sim, and once we refreshed my (very) basic knowledge of cockpit instruments etc, off we went. Started of by taking off from Tokyo, and once we were 'high' enough and the clouds were turned off (!!) it amazed me just how vast Tokyo actually is! I'm going to have to reconsider my bucket list trip, it might take a lot longer than a month!!
So, we skipped the 4000+ mile flight home to Glasgow, and arranged a flight path over my house (couldn't actually see it, obviously) and then an ILR landing. That went well, so we did it again but on VFR this time, which was a lot more scary even in a simulator. Managed it though.
We then went to Schiphol, and again did one ILR and one VFR landing. I have to say, like I always thought, take offs are much easier than landings done without all the aids, though by now I was getting the hang of it quite happily and kept it pretty much on track and on the runway. Oh, and the second one involved taking off, doing a huge circle round the airport and landing again .. something a real aircraft probably isn't allowed to do.
And, lastly, was Madeira. I've been there twice, and it's a runway built next to the cliff (North)-East of Funchal. The original runway was extended a number of years ago, so I dread to think how difficult it was to land there prior to that! Anyway, tried a VFR landing first, but being too high and not lined up properly necessitated a "go around". Kind of fun actually, (done it with model aircraft loads of time) but if imagine a couple of hundred people in the back, maybe not so much fun after all. For them anyway! ILR next, and this was much easier given the number of times I'd landed by now. Still needed a lot of correction, which by now I was doing almost automatically - a fact the instructor commented on very favourably - and I wasn't really aware I was doing it, so little direct thought did I need. Maybe flying model planes helps even more than I though it would!! Anyway, got it down, off to the far left of the runway, but didn't hit anything or anyone, so more than happy with that. Daniel then informed me that Madeira is a "Captains Only" landing airport, and even then only after additional, special training, noting too that for me, there had been NO wind factored in! That almost never happens in real life by the way.
So, that was my afternoon. An hour was paid for, and I got 70 minutes so well chuffed with that, too. Then they offered half-price for another hour in the next year, so of course that's been snapped up! Can't wait to do it again!!
Which was, an hour in an A320 simulator!
Instructor (Daniel) and I had a wee chat before going into the sim, and once we refreshed my (very) basic knowledge of cockpit instruments etc, off we went. Started of by taking off from Tokyo, and once we were 'high' enough and the clouds were turned off (!!) it amazed me just how vast Tokyo actually is! I'm going to have to reconsider my bucket list trip, it might take a lot longer than a month!!
So, we skipped the 4000+ mile flight home to Glasgow, and arranged a flight path over my house (couldn't actually see it, obviously) and then an ILR landing. That went well, so we did it again but on VFR this time, which was a lot more scary even in a simulator. Managed it though.
We then went to Schiphol, and again did one ILR and one VFR landing. I have to say, like I always thought, take offs are much easier than landings done without all the aids, though by now I was getting the hang of it quite happily and kept it pretty much on track and on the runway. Oh, and the second one involved taking off, doing a huge circle round the airport and landing again .. something a real aircraft probably isn't allowed to do.
And, lastly, was Madeira. I've been there twice, and it's a runway built next to the cliff (North)-East of Funchal. The original runway was extended a number of years ago, so I dread to think how difficult it was to land there prior to that! Anyway, tried a VFR landing first, but being too high and not lined up properly necessitated a "go around". Kind of fun actually, (done it with model aircraft loads of time) but if imagine a couple of hundred people in the back, maybe not so much fun after all. For them anyway! ILR next, and this was much easier given the number of times I'd landed by now. Still needed a lot of correction, which by now I was doing almost automatically - a fact the instructor commented on very favourably - and I wasn't really aware I was doing it, so little direct thought did I need. Maybe flying model planes helps even more than I though it would!! Anyway, got it down, off to the far left of the runway, but didn't hit anything or anyone, so more than happy with that. Daniel then informed me that Madeira is a "Captains Only" landing airport, and even then only after additional, special training, noting too that for me, there had been NO wind factored in! That almost never happens in real life by the way.
So, that was my afternoon. An hour was paid for, and I got 70 minutes so well chuffed with that, too. Then they offered half-price for another hour in the next year, so of course that's been snapped up! Can't wait to do it again!!
