Return to the G1000 C172-SP
As a member of Aircraft Grouping I am required to fly with an instructor every six months to demonstrate that I can still fly. Sometimes this is an inconvenience, but it just has to be done. I called Keith, an instructor with whom I've flown before, and soon arranged the required flight. I chose to do it in the Cessna I had flown to La Baule rather than in my own group plane, an Arrow.
The C172 I have access to is a 2007 model with a Garmin G1000 fit and an KAP autopilot, just like the Twinstar set up. On my check flight we flew a standard short field departure and did a PFL and some handling, finishing off with a couple of circuits. All went well and so I decided to fly it some more over the next couple of weeks.
I booked the C172 for a Friday afternoon intending to fly down to Halfpenny Green and have a play with it. However, on arriving at Barton I was asked if I would take it up to Blackpool to have the nose oleo pumped up as it was looking pretty low. I readily agreed as my plans were only provisional and soon found myself passing west of Warton with the autopilot engaged and the G1000 set up for the ILS for runway 28. The approach button was pressed and I was closing nicely when the Blackpool controller told me to orbit left to give way for commercial traffic. I was self positioning and wanted to test that the autopilot would capture the localiser and glide path. Never mind, I disconnected the autopilot and flew the approach to a beautiful landing.
On the way home I just played with the aircraft trying different power and flap settings and flew all the way around Winter Hill mast before returning to Barton. The grass surface really undulates and I found myself bouncing along as I slowed down. Not very graceful, but also not a problem, as I'm used to it.
A couple of days later, on a lovely Sunday afternoon, I was back at Barton with a friend, Alan. This was going to be a mini tour of the area to the North of the airfield and a first flight in a single engine for Alan for a very long time. He has been spoiled with too many twin flights!
The route I loaded into the G1000 was EGCB - POL - NELSA - SETEL - FIWUD - EGNH - CROFT -EGCB with the altitude set for 3000 feet when airspace permitted. The total route was 100 nautical miles and we had a very relaxing flight, including flying over Blackpool airport. We returned to earth with the usual bumps along Barton's runway about seventy minutes after take-off.
The C172 I have access to is a 2007 model with a Garmin G1000 fit and an KAP autopilot, just like the Twinstar set up. On my check flight we flew a standard short field departure and did a PFL and some handling, finishing off with a couple of circuits. All went well and so I decided to fly it some more over the next couple of weeks.
I booked the C172 for a Friday afternoon intending to fly down to Halfpenny Green and have a play with it. However, on arriving at Barton I was asked if I would take it up to Blackpool to have the nose oleo pumped up as it was looking pretty low. I readily agreed as my plans were only provisional and soon found myself passing west of Warton with the autopilot engaged and the G1000 set up for the ILS for runway 28. The approach button was pressed and I was closing nicely when the Blackpool controller told me to orbit left to give way for commercial traffic. I was self positioning and wanted to test that the autopilot would capture the localiser and glide path. Never mind, I disconnected the autopilot and flew the approach to a beautiful landing.
On the way home I just played with the aircraft trying different power and flap settings and flew all the way around Winter Hill mast before returning to Barton. The grass surface really undulates and I found myself bouncing along as I slowed down. Not very graceful, but also not a problem, as I'm used to it.
A couple of days later, on a lovely Sunday afternoon, I was back at Barton with a friend, Alan. This was going to be a mini tour of the area to the North of the airfield and a first flight in a single engine for Alan for a very long time. He has been spoiled with too many twin flights!
The route I loaded into the G1000 was EGCB - POL - NELSA - SETEL - FIWUD - EGNH - CROFT -EGCB with the altitude set for 3000 feet when airspace permitted. The total route was 100 nautical miles and we had a very relaxing flight, including flying over Blackpool airport. We returned to earth with the usual bumps along Barton's runway about seventy minutes after take-off.
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| G-GFEA parked at Blackpool |
posted by David M at 10:13 PM
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