My oldest daughter Rebecca, knowing my passion for flying (virtually anyway) gave me a special Christmas present – an Introductory Flight with Gostner Aviation Camden Airport. 

My daughter Sarah considered that I would be too excited to concentrate on driving on the way to the airport, so she decided to drive me out there so I’d arrive there safely.  

My appointment was booked for 9:30am with David Maddock (my flight instructor). David appeared to have cleared his whole morning for me, as I didn’t finish up until about 1:30pm – incredible. From the moment I walked in, David sat me down and gave me a cup of coffee while we chatted about what we would do. I brought a folder of documentation on the planes I fly on-line, along with examples of some of our on-line flights etc, to show him the grounding I had in flight principles (in a virtual sense). 

He was most impressed with the material I had to show him. Off course I took my Flight Sim certification certificates along as well (so proud). 

David showed me their simulator set up for IFR practice – very impressive. The simulator is tucked in a booth, complete with light and ventilation. The software is based on FS2002 (although it looked different - customized I guess). The yoke, pedals, ignition and lights etc, radio stack and throttle assembly were all faithfully laid out. Apparently it handles aircraft up to the King Air.

The Cessna 152

We then gathered up our supporting material, headsets and headed for the plane.

The Cessna 152 The aircraft for our flight was the venerable Cessna 152. This is an excellent aircraft to learn on, very forgiving for novice flyers like myself.

We started by doing the all-important walk around, to ensure nothing was going to “fall off” in flight.

David was very thorough and even had me up on the wing measuring the fuel level and testing fuel extracted for water and impurities.

Once we were satisfied that the plane was air worthy, we started on our startup checklist and received clearance to taxi out to the runway.

Here’s were David handed over control to me to taxi out and let me tell you, the pedals have a completely different feel to the CH Products Pro Pedals I use. After a “little” weaving I became accustomed to the pedals and toe breaks for steering.

We pulled over into a waiting bay, while another plane performed a touch and go and went through the power up to test the left and right magnetos. We ensured our control surfaces were operating OK and Nav lights operating then headed for the runway.

Once we were cleared for takeoff, David had control but asked me to get a feel for the control surface by following (by feeling) the process he was using. Once airborne, it wasn’t long before I had control again to continue the climb and then perform a turning climb out to our cruising altitude of around 1600 feet initially.

Here is where I experienced my first taste of turbulence in a small aircraft. Now this is something that you don’t get in the simulator at home. Visions of that mechanical bull come to mind. Oh well, once you get a dose of these they become commonplace and you get on with the flying process.

Another frustration was hearing David’s instructions over the headsets with all the other noise going on. This also improved as the flight progressed. Little planes can be very noisy in flight.

David threw some curve balls at me by getting me to trim and re-trim the plane under various power settings, climbs and descents – what a blast. While we were aloft, we soaked up the great view out the windows. David reminded me to focus on what was going on outside the window and not become transfixed on the instruments – now that was a challenge.

Thoughts of soaring the heavens were all too soon replaced with returning to terra firma, so we headed back towards the airport, where David had me join the pattern for a downwind and base leg. David then took control for the final leg and once again had me get the feel of the control surfaces during the landing.

Back on the ground (nice landing David), I was given control to taxi back to the parking location.

We then returned to the office for another cuppa and discussed various aspects of the flight.
David was very happy with my handling of the aircraft during the flight ( for a first time up).

I enjoyed the process so much that I’ve decided to start training for my Private Pilot’s license. I would highly recommend David to anyone interested in learning to fly. His patience and caring approach, along with allowing the prospective learner to decide where they wanted to go next (without being pushy), made the experience very enjoyable and comfortable.

I will integrate the FS Simulator and Training Flights to spread the cost out without becoming stale, which David felt would work well.

My daughter picked me up to return home and had to giggle at the beaming smile I wore on the way back home in the car.
If you want to know more about David’s company, check out the following websites.

http://aerodiamond.com

http://www.aviation.net.au

http://www.gostneraviation.com.au

Report on Lesson 1: Straight and Level Flight – 5^th February 2005

By Paul Phibbs

 After experiencing the Introductory Flight and making the decision to venture forth towards my Private Pilot’s License, I booked my first lesson with Gostner Aviation and eagerly counted down the days.

 To pick the best time of the day, I booked for 9:30 on a Saturday morning. Usually the mornings are calmer, before the heat of the day stirs up atmospheric conditions.

 The Classroom

Soon after arriving, David had me complete the necessary paperwork for the flight and we headed for the classroom for some theory. David mentioned that this part of the course is where we lay the important foundations that are relied upon later.

Soon after arriving, David had me complete the necessary paperwork for the flight and we headed for the classroom for some theory. David mentioned that this part of the course is where we lay the important foundations that are relied upon later.

Here’s where my flight simulation certification training paid off, as much of what we covered is addressed in the simulation environment. It got interesting when we sat down and identified that one of us was too heavy for our flight, based on the fuel loaded on the Cessna 152. David had assessed me to be about 76 kilos, which would have worked out perfectly.

Here are the calculations:

 
This meant we were over by 4.6kilos.

 So after running around the paddock for an hour (only kidding) we decided to let the plane work off the weight – and I could practice my taxiing.

 Now, back to the classroom. Did you know that Lift = CL½PV²S. Well now that I know that important piece of information, I can focus on how to fly the plane. Seriously though, David was merely pointing out the factors associated with lift and that altering one factor impacts on another.

 The Walk around

David allowed me to follow through the external checklist, which went without a hitch. Except for the time I was examining the front wheel assembly and placed my head in the arc of the prop blades (they weren’t active and the key wasn’t in the ignition) however, David suggested it’s a good idea to KEEP CLEAR of that area.

The Flight

We climbed aboard, did our pre-takeoff checks, I called the tower for clearance and taxied to the run-up bay. After running up the engines and checking the magnetos and gauges I called for clearance to take off. Before I knew it, David had me applying full throttle and we were racing down the runway. I was so intent on keeping my track true that I didn’t even think to watch the airspeed. Fortunately David suggested it was time to ease back on the stick and once the front wheel was off the ground the plane simply floated on its way skyward. It was an interesting takeoff as there was a crosswind to allow for. Looking back at the runway as we climbed away, had me drifting as I wasn’t allowing for the wind and P-Factor with my rudder. Now why don’t they put rear vision mirrors in these things?

 We made a climbing turn and leveled off at 2,000 feet. We then headed out towards Warragamba Dam and then headed east towards Bankstown. During this time we checked for traffic monitored speed, heading and altitude. David had me aiming for “bumps” on the horizon, as a visual check on heading.

 David then demonstrated the use of ailerons with rudder for turning on the axis for direction of flight – without the rudder, the nose of the plane moves from side to side. More on that in future lessons.

 We eventually turned for home and descended to 1,500 feet and leveled off. We then climbed to 1,700 feet and leveled off. This allowed me to consider another classroom discussion on the sequence of Power, Attitude and Trim, i.e.,

Climb: Power, Attitude, Trim

Level out from a Climb: Attitude, Power, Trim

Descend: Power, Attitude, Trim

Level out from a Descent: Power, Attitude, Trim

 Finally, I called the Tower when we were over Oran Park Raceway, to land and before we knew it we were on final for runway 24. The approach was great, nicely lined up and I was waiting for David to say “I have control” but to my surprise, I flew the approach and landed. HOW EXCITING! The plane virtually floated down for a soft landing. I even managed to keep the centerline and braked for an early taxiway.

 The Wrap Up

After taxiing back to the parking area, David discussed various aspects of the flight. I strayed a little from my assigned altitude but was able to address this easily. At the end of the day, I felt elated to have performed a take off and landing in addition to the identified goals for straight and level flight. I left David at about 1:00pm. Another morning packed with amazing experiences.  

The next day, we paid a visit to the Tower and met the controllers on duty. They pointed out the system they use for keeping track of aircraft in various stages of approach or departure and we watched as one of the Controllers looked after the traffic that was coming and going. What a great view of the surrounding area. The Controllers don’t have radar to watch traffic and rely on the view out the window and the radio, to manage all traffic.

 We chatted for some time about radio procedures and some of the equipment they use, like the hand held signaling device. It was great to see this all too important service from their perspective.  

Well, I’m now off to practice my techniques on the Cessna152 I purchased for Flight Simulator 2004 and eagerly await the next lesson.