A Return To Gamston

My latest fly out was on Saturday October 15th to Gamston Airfield, near Worksop. The last time I visited here was to fly the Diamond DA42NG with Henrik Burkal of Diamond Aircraft, but that was a year ago now. Planning for this flight was completed the day before using my SkyDemon software, although once again I was without a passenger or flying friend.


The weather on the day was probably the only flyable opportunity in the preceding week, so I was lucky fixing my booking for the Saturday and, as a bonus, the plane was mine exclusively for the day. I like to fly with a fellow pilot when possible as the extra eyes are always useful to help with navigation, lookout and actually flying, as there is no serviceable autopilot in the Seneca. However, today I was on my own.

The weather was fairly settled, with a 20-25kt south easterly wind at my planned altitude of 2800 feet, although the visibility was not all that good at around 9000 metres. The estimated time on route was just over thirty minutes if I followed my plan of heading directly to the Pole Hill VOR (vhf navigation beacon), before turning for the ADELU intersection and on to Gamston. The Class A airspace at the POL VOR starts at 3500 feet but lowers to 3000 feet for both Manchester and Leeds Class D on the way to ADELU. I planned to stay beneath this airspace although a transit of Doncaster’s Class D would be required to route directly to Gamston.

After uplifting 180 litres of Avgas I had approximately 300 litres in the tanks, giving a range of just over three hours at cruise power. This would be fine for the estimated return trip plus any holding or diversion that may become necessary. The surface wind at Blackpool was 140 degrees at around 10 kts and I taxied to the A1 hold for runway 13. Checks complete, I was soon rolling and airborne with a gentle left turn to head for Pole Hill. I levelled at 2800 feet and was experiencing quite a bit of turbulence and updrafts. The visibility was poor so accurate navigation was needed to stay on track and away from controlled airspace. I also had to monitor the altitude very closely to avoid a vertical airspace infringement. The workload was high and there was no time to relax and enjoy the views!

I managed to pass directly over the POL VOR and headed towards ADELU. I had the power set around 32 inches of manifold pressure, propellers at 2400 rpm and was seeing an indicated airspeed of 165kts. I was using GPS as my primary means of navigation with the VOR as a backup. Before long I was approaching the City of Sheffield and called Doncaster Radar to advise them of my intentions and request clearance through their airspace, en route Gamston. I was granted a clearance not below 2800 feet and not above 3000 feet. I wanted to be above the Netherthorpe Airfield circuit, which was on my track, and then planned to descend after that. Doncaster released me from the altitude restriction as I pulled the power back to slow to around 140 kts. Gamston Radio then gave me the runway in use as 21 right hand circuit and I descended and positioned downwind. Gear and flaps were selected down when the speed had decreased and I lined up with the runway at 80 kts for a smooth touchdown.

After turning left off the runway to the parking area, I went to the control tower to pay my landing fee before making my way into the airfield Cafe Bar, "The Apron". This is a very nice, quality place to eat and watch movements on the aerodrome. There is a large TV showing the News channel, with subtitles, so as not to disturb diners, and a very nice looking menu to choose from. I went for the soup, which came with two generous cuts of fresh bread, and a latte. Both were very nice. There is an outside area to sit where a good few people were enjoying the sunshine. Overall it was a very positive experience.

G-GFEY at Gamston Airfield

After lunch I had a look around the hangers and saw some very nice aeroplanes. I was particularly struck with two Seneca Fives that looked in superb condition. One of these had the Avidyne Avionics package with twin Garmin 430s, just the same as I am used to in the Cirrus SR20. The paint finishes on both aircraft looked great! I also saw four DA42s, one of which was the latest NG model that I loved  flying last year.
 


A very appealing Senaca V



Another very appealing Seneca!



DA42NG G-PETS


A couple of days later I noticed that Gamston Flying School were offering DA42s and Seneca Fives for training and hire so I rang them and found that the Avidyne Seneca was available as well as the DA42. I may well go over again and fly these aircraft. Watch for updates on this! After spending a couple of very pleasant hours at Gamston, I prepared to head back to Blackpool.

Slipping into the left hand seat of the Seneca is feeling more and more comfortable as my experience in it grows. There is no doubt it is the most demanding aeroplane I have flown and you have to be alert at all times. Cracking along at 160kts you can find it all going wrong very quickly if you do not pay close attention to where you are, the weather and airspace. But doing these trips solo does build confidence in your own ability. You have to plan your arrival early and SLOW DOWN! Easy to say when you are a touch too high and a tad too fast but you have to learn quickly. Staying current is the most difficult part as weather, time and not least the cost of all this, gets in the way.

I departed Gamston and flew at 1500 feet before turning West and then tracking to ADELU on the way home. This avoided calling up Doncaster for a clearance as their airspace starts at 2000 feet. I climbed to 2800 feet and tracked to POL VOR again before turning towards Blackpool. I tuned in the Blackpool ILS for runway 28 and was positioned to the right of the centreline. Visibility was again poor so I wanted the guidance from this approach aid. However, another aircraft was doing instrument approaches so when the controller asked me to position to the North of the M55, I did just that and positioned right base for runway 28. I had to orbit and hold and it all got a bit untidy with other traffic before I lined up on final approach. Another good landing followed and I taxied in to park the aircraft.

Winter is surely on the way now as we have had a longish run of very poor weather that has kept me grounded on several occasions. I am hoping to fly the Cessna 172 next Saturday, but the weather does not look likely to allow this to happen. We shall see.

More in the Seneca

Saturday, September 24th was a day when I could just have easily stayed home. The previous evening it was looking as if visual meteorological conditions would be unlikely for my booking to fly the Seneca in the morning. I had the aircraft from 11am until 3pm but no one to share the flight with. In these marginal weather conditions and the lack of a companion, I am tempted sometimes to just not bother.

But it had been several weeks since I last flew the Seneca and even that flight was brief. In fact my last ‘proper’ flight in it was to Sligo, in the Irish Republic, in early July. So, I made the decision to go.

Prior to my booking, the aircraft was on an Instrument Rating training flight and arrived back at base with insufficient fuel for my sortie. We use a fob to gain access to the fuel pumps and usually the limit of 200 litres of Avgas is more than enough for the single engine planes. The Twinstar uses JetA1 and is pumped from a tanker, so not usually a problem. However, the Seneca is a twin engine plane and can hold over 460 litres of useable fuel. After I had put in 200 litres the pump stopped my delivery. It’s the first time this has happened to me and I had to reset and commence another delivery to get what I wanted. I now had enough fuel for my flight and for the IR student after me who would need a couple of hours of flight time.

It always seems to be the case that however long the slot you have to fly, you can run out of time very quickly! The aeroplane can be late returning from the previous flight and then time is expended checking out the fuel and oil states, the control surfaces and propellers and also completing the technical log. You then need to be back before the next pilot wants a go! Not to mention refuelling as well.

Eventually I strapped myself in to G-GFEY having refuelled and satisfied myself that all was ready for departure. With no distractions from a passenger, or fellow pilot, I ran through the checklist carefully and the engines were soon running and the avionics powered up. There was a gentle crosswind today, but conditions looked to be fair as I taxied to E2, the holding point for runway 28. Checks complete, I reported ready for departure and was offered a shorter backtrack for take-off due to landing traffic. I declined this offer as in the Seneca you need to take your time and not be worrying about getting airborne with indecent haste.

With power set at 40” manifold pressure, the aircraft was soon in the air with the wheels tucked away. A reduction to 34” and 2400rpm and pulling back the mixtures to give a fuel flow of 12 u.s. gallons per hour each engine, had us climbing at 100 kts. I levelled off at 2000 feet and further reduced power to 25” manifold pressure and the airspeed settled around 140 kts. This speed is fine for general handling as there is no point in flying at 165kts and using lots of fuel if you are not going anywhere in particular! I did my usual turns left and right, climbing and descending and just enjoyed the flying. I looked at the new wind farm development out to the west of Walney Island and did a few minutes in the clouds to practice instrument flying skills.

Returning to Blackpool via Fleetwood, I was asked to report east abeam the tall tower (Blackpool’s newly refurbished landmark) and was told to position right base runway 28. There were a couple of commercial aircraft backtracking for departure and I had to complete three or four orbits for spacing before positioning on final approach. These orbits were themselves more handling practice as I flew with flaps 10 and the undercarriage down. The plane was rock steady and was quite happy doing this at 1200 feet above the M55. Soon enough I was over the threshold and made a good landing, turning off the runway at the Delta taxiway as another commercial was looking to back track for departure. I taxied to Flight Academy and parked up once again.

Seneca on the Flight Academy Apron

The Twinstar has been out of action now for over a month as the management consider what to do about it. New clutches were required for its engines but, as it is near to needing brand new engines, it would not make sense to replace gearboxes then still need replacement power plants soon after. I really enjoy flying the Twinstar and in the past have really missed it when it has been off line. However, that was before I tried the Seneca. It is 1980’s technology but it’s built like a tank, has six seats and is very fast and pleasing to fly. It gives a real sense of satisfaction after each flight. It’s not too hard or too easy to fly, but needs to be operated correctly and certainly demands good airmanship to fly safely and well.

Those are good skills to develop and maintain for someone seeking to be a safe aviator.