Tail Wheel Differences / Chipmunk Conversion and Aerobatics

Session One

After pushing the chippy outside and facing it into wind I was given the full internal and external brief again. It was so long ago I needed this again. It became clear that there was no room in the cockpit to swing anything around (being previously spoilt with the Yak). My knee board wasn't going to fit so that was in the locker and my information and sent brief gone to the four winds... I managed to sort of arrange things in my thigh pads to suit. Obvious that the Mark14b coverall was the one for the Chippy as I have others than don't have thigh pads and will most likely be useless in the chippy.... Early on we tested the comm's as Martin wanted to make sure my MKIV helmet and his DC's were compatible.. Perfect. Only issue was manhandling the thing... Eventually I figure out that the best place to store a helmet was on my bloody head exemplifying the advantages of a university education. Although the sound dampening is good its rather like wearing ear plugs...you can still hear peripheral noise and the spoken word so the engine start up dog and pony show would be doeable.

Starting was interesting... Martin sucked in about 6 blades; then primed the carburretor.....he did have to re-arrange the blade angle as his initial attempt to correctly position inlet and outlet valves; initially it didn't give him a satisfactory pressure from the hand pump. Mags on in the rear then after 4 false swings Martin suggested I used both Magnetos...unusual and not mentioned anywhere in all the bumf I've read but he's the man so both mags it was..... After, two more swings and it burst into life into a slow chug sounding rather like a motor boat!!... Once the Oil Pressure was registering I increased the RPMs to 1100 rpm for cooling (after Martin got in) otherwise I'd blow him off the wing.

Taxiing was most interesting - very unnatural and I felt most paraplegic in my control manipulation being spoilt for choice of which ineffective control to mess with next..... I needed a third arm and a second brain. You have to fly a taildragger on the ground at there is a real risk of the wind lifting a wing or the tail. The wind was up so stick and rudder position made the difference between taxiing and continued frustrations about moving things in the cockpit but not actually going anywhere or going somewhere where you don't want to be. It was a toss up between two notches on the brake and leaving it fully off and regular dabs (short pulls) on the lever. Of course your brake arm is the power arm to so flitting between them was necessary. I managed to get myself to somewhere near A1 Hold. Later I came to realize than on tarmac two notches and power and when turning brake off and dabs was more effective. What I did learn was to position the elevator for the wind..... ie wind from behind left, right stick and the left aileron goes down so effectively the wind can't get under and lift the wing. From the rear stick forward or neutral. The elevator position is simple to work out. What I need to master is using the aileron to assist my taxiing turns and using the power correctly to assist in turns. Short blasts of power helped to initial turns but always in the back of my mind was old engine treat her nice. Since we were off on runway 13 I didn't get alot of taxiing practice with only a relatively short taxi. Power checks - 1800 rpm - Pre-take off checks OK - I've got some work to do on my checklist as its not completely satisfactory....for instance the full and free check is missing after the pre-take off checks... work to do

Take off was quite rapid, I know the wind was strong; basically get the tailwheel straight, power on 1234 then push the stick forward to raise the tail.. expect and correct the swing... the rudder was alive now so it was feeling like a control. Martin was of course making rudder movement so it was only 10% my take-off. As we climbed out wow...beautifully responsive.. Very light on th controls especially in pitch. The RT was crazy and I missed the clearance... Out to Southport... I'd not uncaged the DI - again something in the checklist I need to firm up on.

We started with some turns. 30 degrees, 45 degrees and 60 degrees... this all went well considering the horizon was crap. Keeping you eyes mainly out does the trick...LAI lookout attitude instruments....lookout attitude instruments... Then we did some stalls...My attempts were pitiful...eventually she just mushes down. Even stick hard back she just wasn't interest in dropping a wing and flipping me the bird. The interesting one was 15 deg and 1300 rpm... now the slipstream is there in the stall... when the wing dropped she went quick beyond 90 degrees...gulp!!!!...it was almost a reversal in flight direction... 30 degrees the same thing and Martin had to retract the flap as we were reaching the Flap limiting speed on recovery within seconds.... no real dramas... one thing to be aware of is that speed changes are quick in the chippy and that flap limiting speed can easily be exceeded. Always leading with the rudder is important in this aircraft. Fella in the back can feel all my control inputs and registers every mistake or late or too little or too much application instantly.

So we descended by the Reebok - Descent power 1800 - Carb heat on.

Upon calling Barton I got that sinking feeling when they said Runway 20!!! Why is it that when I'm doing a conversion in an unfamiliar aircraft with a high workload and new motor skills I get the shortest bloody runway with a humped back bridge in the middle. Happened in the Yak too. Having accepted the fact that if I ground loop it will be right infront of the cafe for all to see I just had to grow a pair and get on with it. We (Martin) decided to do some touch and goes. Fairly tight circuit.. on the first one I was getting my wind drift angles and visual reference points sorted out. I was hamfisted on the stick (probably just terror!!) above circuit height. Martin seemed to want an impossible base turn (two wing lengths after the end of the runway) In retrospect the strong wind and the chippy's ability to lose height it was pretty spot on. When pulling back the power to 1300 RPM, keep eyes outside the cockpit do it on engine noise then correct after the the yawing forces have reduced. If my eyes were in I was always behind the aircraft. 15 flap and nose down to keep 65 knots. I found the ASI jumped around more than any other aircraft I'd been in and was difficult to nail to the nearest knot.

The Touch and goes went by in a flash and I don't remember much about them other than conflicting seat of the pants forces. I remember being pretty tense and using large rudder to avoid heading straight for the cafe!! Next we were landing for a rest. This was my first attempt at taxiing on grass. Again it was hard work...I did get more of a hang of it and the friction of the grass meant it was easier to keep the speed in check. Eventually I managed to get her on a tee facing into wind. I used the pull ring shut off - as the engine dies you open the throttle and close it again when the prop stops.

Session Two

She started after about three swings on two mags again. Love the Gypsy Major rumble. What came next was about 7 or 8 circuits on Runway 20. Take off was a little unstable but the wind was gusting as well so may not have been entirely mishandled by me. She was so sensitive in pitch nailing the speed was really hard. Look away for a second and she's picked up five knots and the windscreen has too much ground and not enough sky!!!... In retrospect I need to get more of a feel for the trim and use it to help reduce the workload. Again two much hamfistedness; At 400ft lookout and cleared my turn, 15 deg AOB and 70 knots. I generally made the 1000ft at the downwind turn with an opportunity to increase the speed..... I didn't seem to get the speed up to 90 it was always 80-85 so again extra workload manipulating the throttle trying to make the small corrections. 2050 rpm seemed more appropriate for 90 knots than the 2000 recommended. Perhaps she needs a wax :-) I needed to use 30 AOB. RT was OK and the helmet was working great. Downwind checks OK, I elected to leave carb heat on when checking on the downwind leg because of having to swap hands on the stick and the fact that the power reduction is minimal and it wouldn't do any harm. Martin agreed. I got used to the close in approaches and final turn... again not being slick on the trim I struggled with speed and Martin picked me up alot on speed control with the flaps down, I found the flare relatively easy; I was doing generally between 55-59 over the hedge and the throttle was closed over the hedge. Holding the attitude and using the rudder to straighten up I did some reasonable touch down without too much skipping or bouncing. Was I neglected was getting the stick right back as soon as we had landed (taking into account the inter wind aileron. Go-arounds were stick forward and power onto full a moment later. My perception was that when I did this the chippy was swinging left everytime we went around. The wind was from the left and I wondered if the wind monent on the fin was greater than the swing tendency from the tail coming up...I think it was a matter of timing before the helical slipstream hit the fin. Martin was insisting on left rudder but we were heading off to the left already!! This was confusing. One thing I was not doing right was that I was applying the power before moving the stick forward... Conscientiously going to overcome that one. Last think we need is a skip into the air at a stalled attitude then a wing drops then its all over....

The landing was a wheeler demonstrated by Martin. Came in very low and held it off with a level flight attitude; as soon as the mains touch he checked forward and kept her straight. As the tail dropped he applied full back stick... Job done.. awesome legend. I taxi-ed us back after after landing checks. To the pumps this time. Each side filled to 1/2" from the top. Then I taxied unassisted to a parking Tee and made quite a good job of it actually looked like I was in full control.

Session Three

Oil was down to 1/2 on the stick so I purchased a quart of W15W50 Multigrade and stuck that in.

Two more touch and goes... nothing memorable other than my circuit was starting to improve probably because my motor responses were attempting to connect with my brain so that I had reached the 'automatom' level. Martins derogaratory term for painful RT.... that still makes my laugh.

Once we left the circuit; headed to my old playground near Chorley Lakes. After a HASELL check Martin demonstrated a wing over. Notable was easing down for 105 knots entry speed, 45 degrees up, relax back pressure then 30-40 degrees of bank; over she goes full 90 degree angle of bank; the speed was down to 40 knots at the apex (rather low I thought) but she quickly gathered speed down the other side needing early back stick to ride at right into another wingover. I had a couple of goes and my 2nd attempt was quite respectable by my standards. I needed 5 more knots entry speed for perfection. Awesome - starting to fall for this aircraft - at 6 gph I can see why folk love em.

At this point I was tired, felt weary and not feeling 100% - more aeros were just going to make me chuck; we'd ticked lots of boxes and I felt ready to land and start thinking about everything I'd learned and what changes I needed to make and embed to be better next time. I called Warton; Tend to use my own RT as Martin tends to throw alot of non standard stuff in there. I flew around Warton airfield at 3000 ft. Handed over to Blackpool tower the asked me to join Right Base for runway 13. I was number two to a Diamond Twinstar which I could see on approach. We flew offshore some way. I flew the approach, the winds were gusting 30 knots by now. Martin did the landing; it was quite challenging and he held off for an awful long time; Taxiing was challenging; He handed over to me and I taxied to the pumps. Getting better at this now. I then taxi-ed her back to Hanger 2; Took some time to wipe all the oil off her from inside the cowlings and the underside.

A great introduction to the Chippy and tailwheel differences. Alot more to come. Really want to get the knack of side slipping. The helmet was a big success and worth the money I spent on it getting it re-engineered to my spec. Very impressed with the Gypsy major engine - took a reasonable beating and seems bullet proof

Session Four

All still fresh in my mind. We had India Alpha outside in quick fashion. I took my time with the checks. Why rush when I've got all day and I want to enjoy every minute of this plane. After I'd performed the externals I did the cockpit checks. I asked Martin to do the full and free check (before starting) to save me having to get in; from my own experience with a foreign object fouling the flying controls in the Yak has taught me that this is a most essential check. Addendum - Remembering to turn the manual filter scraper by 360 degrees.

I wanted to learn how to swing the prop. With the carb float isolator pull ring pulled I primed her up with about 10-15 strokes. Only the top part of the stroke was working as I could feel some slight pumping pressure. Once fuel was pissing out onto the deck that's the signal that the system is primed.

Martin explained where to stand; left hand behind my back, with the prop at 2 o clock (or quarter to 3 if you are a short arse like me and coveralls that are a wee bit tight threatening to relieve the Govt of having to pay out any more child benefit) The swinger...(bit dubious that term).... asks for Brakes ON , Switches OFF, Fuel ON, throttle cracked (its closed for a hot start), before the prop is touched. Now the mags in the front were on. Thumbs down.....I shout 'Contact' and Martin flipped on the mags with thumbs up....She started for me on swing Number 4..... what a great feeling it was to start an aero engine the way they were meant to be started. What a privilige.

I was 10 times better at taxiing her today having lost the brain rust and now have the motor skills embedded. The stick position was also becoming more intuitive. Quite a wait at the hold for an intersection take off on Runway 28 at Blackpool. Can't remember the take -off but I remember the elation of being in the air again. LH Turn out to St Annes Pier. Handed over to Warton quickly. My RT was good today. Always have trouble hearing Blackpool especially the male ATCs; the female ATCs are much clearer....Always found that. Stayed with Warton and after climbing I did some turns and got my rudder feet back. Can chuck this plane about like the Yak.

Once at Barton I'd committed to 2 x TGs. My circuits were much better; Again my motor skills were working to give me spare capacity. Two good touch and goes, One reasonable then the other was tail up slightly. With the bumps on the runway it was hard to tell exactly. The wind again was from the LH side. Noticeable was the LH swing when the tail rose followed by a delayed right hand swing when the power and slipstream took effect. This meant nifty RH then immediate LH rudder and rather large movements. The second one was a glide approach. For glides, 70 knots on the base leg, single stage of flap then 65 on final seeing how it goes.

Session Five

Back to it; 1 litre of oil added. I hand swung again (Brakes on, Switches off fuel on, throttle closed (hot start) - routine), It started first swing.... I think my grin must have been huge!!!!

Short Field take off - 15 degrees of flap set. Once lined up whilst reaching across with the right hand to grab the brake holding the stick back best you can right in the crook of your arm. Full power - I struggled to hold her on the brake..... release the brake, get your right hand on the stick. Count one two then push forward to raise the tail.... she flies off at 45 knots, hold in ground effect and pitch up at an unusually high nose attitude to nail the Vx Best angle of climb speed at 55 knots.... Points up like the Yak!!! Being careful to correct the pitch and get to 65 knots before raising the flap to avoid dropping a wing at 200 ft; Then letting her come to 70 knots and continuing a normal climb out.

Circuits - Having such a good intercom and now embedded motor skills these were alot less frantic than before. I could feel my spare capacity growing as I had most of the rudder and numbers nailed 90% of the time. Other circuit traffic gave me a chance to demonstrate my airmanship to Martin. We did 7 touch and goes with one go-around. Started with Glide approaches, one was too high and we went around. Not a great deal memorable about these other than I was generally too high; I followed through when Martin side slipped one in ....just awesome. Not a skill have have in my repertoire however we were going to correct that later... read on... As an aside my eye was out again slightly. Martin wanted more back stick earlier which gave me the picture of ballooning. I think my seat of the pants is wrong and I need to be working that stick back remembering to get the stick right back once three pointed with inter wind aileron on it.

Short Field approaches - start like any other - 65 knots 15 deg on base, once on final with 30 flap set let the speed come back to 50 knots, decent nose high attitude, not as much as I'd imagined however the field was obscured add power to the mix to correct the descent rate to suit. At this attitude the is almost no flare, Keeping power on over the hedge just gives you that little bit of extra control over the elevator.... Going around as normal, usual swinging tussling arm wrestling match. We did a few of these. Remembering that as soon as climb is established the 30 deg flap is stowed, 65 knots then at 300 ft the 15 deg flap is stowed.

Last of all Martin wants me to Wheeler. By now ready for anything - normal 65 and 60 knot approach with usual flap; little bit of power left on to have some control of the elevator, no real flare just hold the level attitude and let her sink...bump... push the stick forward immediately. what felt strange was the extent to which the stick was moving forward, also going into the LH corner to get the into wind aileron working. As soon as the tail drops then stick back then its just the usual rudder fight to keep her straight and not ground loop. Taxied to the pumps, refueled then pushed her onto the grass for another cup of tea at the flying school.

Some pics taken by the Barton Paparazzi (Touch and go - note the 30 degree flaps)

Taxiing (An art in India Alpha - she has to be flown on the ground with the stick in the right position relative to wind direction)

Session Six

Short Field take-off - good to practice this again. A wheeler touch and go which is getting really advanced now. It didn't disappoint. I managed to hold the tail wheel off without touching and she took alot of course rudder movements when full power was back on... Great fun and more of those to do. Just love it.

I'd asked Martin for some side slipping practice since it wasn't a normal skill for me with a Cessna and a Yak that will both try to kill me if I think about side slipping on final approach; We found a line feature M61; I slowed her down and went into the final configuration - 30 flap and 60 knots, Slowly applying full right rudder, with left stick, a touch of forward stick being careful not to go below 60 knots or exceed the 71 knot 30 flap limiting speed - the ROD went up to 1000ft per minute!!! Steering was easy by just using the ailerons as normal... look forward to practicing that on my approaches.

Wingovers - A sortie would not be complete with a few of these.. Lined up on the M6 I thoroughly enjoyed myself and really put my back into it. Lost about 500 ft with 2 full figures of 8. Still I felt quite in control and was working on the finer aspects... Noticeable was the LH 8's required more LH rudder over the apex...

I called Warton and almost sounded like a pro. They handed us over to Blackpool Tower who gave us Left Base for Runway 28 Number 1 - The wind noticeably picked up as it always does by the coast and I had to use some high drift angles. Brought her in for a wheeler. Quite frantic but all went well. A long taxi in strong wind gave me plenty of taxiing practice and I'd say I'm getting more in control of this beast on the ground now. Quick refuel then back to Hanger 2 to clean up the oily mess beneath.. One of my best aviating days out

Session Seven

Thorough ground check - Took some piccies to note some of the finer details of India Alphas's A check

Modified improved brakes - however the brake cables hang further than is desirable so potholes on grass strips and uneven surface pose a certain hazard - work a double check

Fuel tank vent hole - a ball inside to block off the vent when inverted :-) great not to lose fuel however the engine stopping whilst inverted might just upset the euphoria with not spilling expensive fuel.

In an emergency - inside this flap can be operated to get the canopy back quickly for jumping out... don't do this without a parachute LOL

Making sure that the rudder and the elevator do not interfere is essential for spin recovery

Note the spin strakes - apparently assist with spin recovery

Incidence angle checking points are clearly marked on the wing to check for wing twist and miss-alignment

Carburetor from the Ford Model T

Priming pump for the carb/fuel inlet system

Manual oil filter wiper - 360 degrees required before the first flight of the day to wipe the sludge off the filter internally - more modern engines had automatic filter wiping systems

Red circle shows the spark advance gear linkage to the throttle - If the throttle is worked during the start up there is a risk of backfire or turning the crankshaft backwards which could injure the hand swinger!!!

Green is the brake fluid reservoir.

Nice big oil filler with a simple and easy to read dipstick. The best of any aircraft I've seen.

I taxied really well and felt completely in charge. Had to wait for the fire truck doing time trials on the runway. Take-off went really well. It was obvious that the cloud base would be getting in the way so we skirted around clouds. Seemed to be getting lower towards Barton and at one point I had to call Warton to descend to remain visual with the ground as we were licking the clouds. I chucked her around abit to get a feel for the rudder. Its a little harder than the Yak to get right and needs more into turn rudder at times where the yak can require some top rudder in a turn once your rate of turn has stopped.

At Barton I did a normal touch and go to get my eye back in then landed with a wheeler. Wind was slightly from the right today.

Looking good on the ground

Well worn in cockpit - Very cramped cf with the Yak. Standard RAF instruments - The clockface RPM and Altimeter took some getting used to.

Session Eight

More circuits - two glide approaches to begin with - Both of them I slipped in under Martins guidance, tending not to use all of the rudder travel like I should be doing. Absolutely awesome with full right rudder controlling the direction with the aileron. Feels most unnatural and a tad unstable but keeping the speed above 60 really works. Dropped like a stone and probably scared the natives shitless as it looks like you are land wing first!!! Enjoyed doing this right down to the flare well past the hedge. 2 Short Field approaches coming in at 50 knots after a normal set-up. Remembering to keep some power on as the airplane will has the landing attitude and the power makes for a smoother landing. Flap less, tended to get low and have to drive it home but on the back of the drag curve so needing power on anyway. Martin was recommending pulling back to 1000 rpm from the set up as the Chippy is a lovely glider. He's right. Then applying a tad of power till touchdown makes for a nicer arrival. Important was getting down in the first third of the runway as she loves to float. In fact both times I used the whole runway and even past the downwind numbers on the last and had to turn left on the climb out to clear the trees. I was confident that she would fly easily enough when asked to do so with no drama.

Was rounding out a little high today - Half of the arrivals were light kisses and successes. The rest were rather manic affairs but nothing beyond my ability to control. Remembering to get the stick back as a soon as a 3 pointer is made is important to stay stalled and on the ground

Finished with with a 3 pointer to practice the getting the stick back once touching the runway.

Session Nine

I spun the prop - 4th attempt she chugged into life. Its so special doing this :-) We took off and headed for the playground. In and out of cloud it became apparent that we were not going to able to do any aeros. Cutting my losses I agreed with Martin just to head back and fly aeros another more suitable day.

Another great day. Martin signed me off for tailwheel differences and gave me P1 for the last flight. Job done. Two more sessions booked so I agreed that we'd use them for aerobatic instruction to explore the Chippys aerobatic capabilities. Going to be interesting.

AEROBATIC TRAINING

Session One

Take-off went really well; wind only 10 degrees out of phase with the runway. All stable and I'm getting more used to the forward stick position; Once clear of Warton we went straight into the aeros session. Aileron rolls. Straight away I could tell this was going to be harder than the Yak. My first to the left, yawed all over the place and came out nose low. Higher nose entry required - eventually I found the normal picture of nose up that I use in the Yak to be about right. What was noticeable was the difference between left and right rolls. On left roll I wasn't using enough left rudder and not enough left aileron; on the right too much!! After quite a few of these I started to get more precision; entry speed 105 knots, pitch up, unload the rudder and aileron. There seemed like an awful lot of yawing compared with Yak rolls which Martin said was OK. Sometimes being late with the rudder didn't help - learning point.

Think its just me expecting more precision from my aeroplane and the pilot :-) Barrel rolls. No demonstration I went straight into these...whaaooooo... not only did I not complete the full roll I felt pre-stall buffet and had to unload the stick. I could see that more skill was going to be needed. I did quite a few of these and eventually managed to get affirmation from Martin that they were getting better and I was hitting the numbers; Dive for 110 knots, 20 degrees opposite to the direction of the roll, 120 knots pull up. Not sure if I had some aileron in there on the pull up on a few; a straight pull would be better, I was pitching up to 45 degrees like I would in the Yak. Noticeable was the fact that the stick travel left was more to begin with and the corresponding rudder travel less but that you needed to finish off the figure with more to even full rudder. Quite a few times I got pre stall buffet but its easy to recognize and unloading just a slight touch removes the risk of a stall or a flick.

Handling during aeros the temp didn't increase so much; I did a lot of full power climbing to regain lost height. Gypsy Major just lapped it up. On Martins request we did give some normal power level flying after climbing to let the engine cool down. Although I couldn't see it physically make a difference on the temp gauge. However, its the right thing to do.

So after 45 minutes we headed for Barton. I elected to do a 3 pointer touch and go to check 'my picture'....went really well. Next a wheeler landing. Wasn't quick enough to catch the little bounce off the mains but a fraction of a second later the mains were on and I had the stick slightly forward...had about 1000 rpm as you should on a wheeler to give some elevator so I pulled the power, no swing, I was slightly paddling but no real cross wind component so no dramas. The tail wheel didn't want to come down so slight back stick then progressing to the back position and the slight bump of the tailwheel touching. I let things sort them selves out and ran to the end of the runway. Wheelers like flap less landings require space and we used up 4/5th of the runway before I was slow enough to safely steer off without the risk of a ground loop. Taxied to 32 with the hood open soaking up the sunshine.

Session Two

Given the unexpected gaps in the clouds and lack of SHRA I suggested to Martin that do the spinning exercise that would help us for the next aeros sessions. Take off again went well I was easily in full control. Elected to throw a circuit in because they are already paid for :-) We were told of a helicopter which we just couldn't see. In hindsight I was looking in the wrong place Doh!! Because I couldn't see it Martin suggested I track right of centre line. I came to the conclusion that without seeing the heli I should just go around. I said so to the FISO then he said the helicopter is now by the fuel..... little blue thing almost impossible to see!! By this time I'd passed the motorway bridge and was at 5-600ft. I'd already started feeding in right rudder when martin suggested a slip. It was great, first I had to correct the offset from the runway. In a slip this was surprisingly easy. I had 60 knots nailed and didn't wallow as much as I did before. straightened up just before the hedge (noted the increase in speed as the side drag was removed), little high so I delayed the flare and got the wheels down for a wheeler, held it on kept it straight, full power and climbed away looking at 65 knots.

I did all the RT with Warton. Told them we were spinning between the North edge of Chorley lakes between 4500ft and 3000ft. Climbed to kiss the clouds at about 3900ft. No demonstrations Martin wanted me to enter a spin to the left. I was aware of the 50 knot entry speed. However, Martin briefed on getting some bank angle (15-20 degs) with full rudder before applying full back stick. The reason for this was to eliminate the chances of entering an inverted spin. Must admit I don't remember it being specifically mentioned for the Yak spinning but I probably missed it. Instead of the ballistic flick over that I am used to with the Yak it turned under itself and started spinning, I'd say at the a similar speed of spin as the Yak. Check throttle closed, Full opposite rudder (no sign of recovery) then using two hands I moved the stick forward centrally and she recovered (not immediately but as the nose dropped recovery was instantaneous) Could feel the rush as she gathered speed and I started pulling out; Remembering that its not a constant speed prop so no power to be added until the ASI drops well below 90 knots. Also remembering to get the carb heat off before adding full power. We did two spins to the left both recovered quite quickly with no drama. The first lost 1400 ft!!! I think there was two spins and maybe part of a third during the recovery. Spinning to the right. Same as except the increase in spin speed was noticeable with forward stick during the recovery; as was the delay in the recovery itself as the nose attitude dropped even more and the rotational speed increased. It was quite spectacular and I fully understand how this would cause panic and give the impression that you had applied the wrong controls!!! That could be a killer. I used the RAF two handed technique of recovery to ensure that the stick went centrally forward and wasn't influenced by the side forces on me. My straps were tight so I was one with the airframe :-) Thoroughly enjoyed this exercise and wasn't at all disoriented or feeling ill. As Martin said its the G's on Pull out that make people ill. The Yak does gather speed more quickly when pointing straight down so the pull out is at a higher G.

After this I elected to do some more barrels and then call it a day... Two to the left. All went reasonably well. Getting the full left rudder in there at the end as the aileron had run out of steam. Still getting pre-stall buffet. Not looking at the speed so no idea how slow I was flying. Totally not phased by this. Certainly more warning than the Yak would give you and slight relaxation of the stick and its job done. I decided it was time for a barrel to the right...now I was growing air testicles once more. Not quite sure what I did wrong but my aileron and rudder inputs that I'd do for a left handed BR just didn't cut it for the right; I came out of it nose high about to stall. It appeared that I now needed less rudder at the end to finish off the roll. I can see that aerobatting a lower powered aircraft was going to raise my game alot. Did a few more each side and called it a day. Called Warton and told to head for Southport. Then handed over to Blackpool. Reported information and level after having to orbit on base because of the busy traffic. More traffic in and Blackpool wanted me to Right orbit, at 1000ft and 90 knots in choppy air this was fun. Eventually the had me reporting final and I made a very nice wheeler landing. I turned off at Taxi-way Echo as other traffic was on approach and taxied all the way to the pumps.

Fantastic sortie.. More aeros to come in the chippy. I think it will really sharpen me up and being a left hand tractor is complimentary to aeros in the Yak.

Session Three

After a month away it was great to be sat in the chippy again. Another glorious day. Away off R10 in quick fashion. Bit wobbly on take off. Pilot induced oscillation. I may have over cooked the left rudder when anticipating the swing on take-off.

Climbed out for St Annes Pier and cleared towards Southport Pier. Warton warned me of a pair of Tucanos doing circuits... never saw them. I climbed up above 3000 ft. In amongst the strato cumulus clouds. It was fairly easy finding holes in which to work in. Started with aileron rolls (105 knots entry). I did really well; anticipated the extra rudder to complete the maneuver to the left. On one I overcooked it so remember that its not full Left rudder. To the right, no problem at all; slightly less max right rudder deflection required. Sort of felt like I needed slight forward stick. Could have been that I was naturally pulling. Just felt right to slightly push to resist the pulling (which I've already proves can stall the chippy on the last quadrant. Very pleased with my results. Barrel rolls first to the left then to the right. Not quite as nose high as last time and again knowing that I was ham fisted in the past I relaxed and even pushed to the stick after being inverted and I don't think I hit buffet at all this time. Result. The chippy is really making me feel the stick properly. With barrel rolls in the Yak you can (I do) maintain some G (hence back stick) around the outside of the barrel to sort of drive it around. Its definitely different. Look forward to doing this in the Yak and experimenting. Certainly coming out of both aileron and barrel rolls the chippy has a nose low attitude and gains speed quickly so quickly converting this energy to regain height needs to be done snappily (110 knots 20 degrees then 120 knots and straight pull). I did a pair of double rolls using the energy from the first roll to lead the second, think I did quite well.

After this I opted for Lazy 8's just because I love doing them. Now I wanted to optimize my roll outs and energy management to loose as little height as possible. The chippy just love it. Its easy to have it float over the apex with 90 degrees of bank and no G... what a graceful maneuver. I could do that all day.

After a time check with Martin I decided to head to Barton to practice a few circuits. A normal approach. I had to go to slow safe cruise being behind a microlight. the slingshot on downwind had been quite far out. She floats down at 60 knots beautifully. The approach on 09R is really the best view. 3 pointed her. Wasn't quite a light kiss as I was on the 09R hump but stick forward and full power with paddling had me back up in no time. Fantastic. I was pleased that I could do that so accurately after a month away. I wanted to shoot another 3 pointer to get another in. Purposely turned early on base to end up extra high on final. on full flap and 60 knots it was obvious I'd miss the airfield by miles so started a big slip in... this is an incredible feeling in the chippy... Must have had 30 degree deflection right on the nose with the aircraft bank 20 degrees left....sliding down with a massive sink rate. Very careful on the pitch to not exceed 71 knots and stay above 60 knots... the airframe shudders as you do this... getting used to it now. did it right down to 100 ft, then forced it straight. Martin pointed out the slight crosswind and the need for slight right bank to maintain track. I was already on it, so with a slight right bank I rounded out and adopted the picture. I was level when the wheel touched down... no problems keeping straight and stick forward full power I was away again. Very pleased with that.

I elected to land with a wheeler on the next one. Again I cut in early to purposely end up high on approach. However I have her on 60 knots with 30 flap and low power in no time at all. We sank at a high rate that was sufficient enough to hit the runway without slipping. I added some power for tail controI at a very late stage. Thought I rounded out too high but soon enough I contacted with the mains and I had the stick forward (at about neutral) the paddled whilst progressively moving it forward and slightly right. Eventually we ran out of steam and tail dropped and I eased the stick back and let friction take the speed off till I could safely slow us down with brake.

Session Four

We discussed doing loops. Originally it would be slow rolls but Martin preferred his studes perfecting loops and stall turns first. I'm cool with that. Remember: Don't require 15 deg flap for Barton

We climbed up above Chorley Lakes. I did some aileron rolls to get my feet and brain working again. Martin then wanted me to do a loop and he would talk me through it and assist if required. Dive for 130 knots then pull. My first attempt wasn't too bad at all. Probably underestimated how much I needed to pull. "Pull hard" was the instruction. I applied full power in the vertical and instinctively relaxed over the top; later I got the impression that I was to maintain the pull although I was feeling for and anticipating pre-stall buffet at the top (conditioned from the Yak) What I did do wrong was remove the power before I was fully in the dive. My second attempt was better although still removing the power too early. The third time I nailed it although a little bank on exit. Forth I nailed it. Its easier than the Yak but obviously light feel on the controls is a must just like the Yak.

To finish off I just did Lazy 8's until I couldn't grin any more. The grace of this machine. With an engine designed in the 1930's.

Over to Warton to the run home to Blackpool. After Marsh side I was handed over to Blackpool Tower I was told to standby and ended up on Left base for Runway 28 before I was told to join Left base!!! I was already turning final with an impossible picture ahead. In quick fashion had full flap, engine idle and 60 knots side slipping in. We slipped off about 1800ft!! It was awesome. The landing point was projecting about 1/3 of the way down the runway. It must have been some picture from the tower!!! took the slip off at less than 100ft and felt the surge as the speed increased, by now we must have used up about half of the runway. I used power to keep some control on the tail as I held the right picture for a wheeler. Stick checked forward as soon as we bumped power off and paddled to stay straight, right aileron for the slight cross wind. The RT was thick and fast and we exited at 2/3 along the runway at Delta..

Great to be back in the chippy. Happy with my landings. Some rust removed and I'm getting confident in the machine now. Very pleased with my feel in the aeros. Another top day out :-)

Session Five

The weather wasn't looking too clever; low cloud and bad vis in places. Martin and I discussed a northerly single sortie. Runway 28 intersection departure went really well.

Turned right at 500ft and headed along the coast for Fleetwood. Our operating area was above Pilling Sands up to the invisible ATZ of Cockenham. I heard a Pilatus on the radio likely dropping sky divers so we had to steer clear. Quick revision of Aileron and Barrel rolls just to get my feet and brian aligned. These went very well. Then Martin briefed me for the loop...Dive for 130 knots and then pull through, usual head up routine. First one, not enough rudder correction and not pulling hard enough. It took up about 1500 ft. Should take 1000 ft. After this I proceeded to do about 7 more loops fine tuning and getting a feel for it. Quite a hard pull required. About 3.5-4 G less than the Yak. The G didn't bother me I just wanted to get it perfect; I used predictive Right rudder on the pitch down, generally not needed, no rudder on the pull up, applied full power once vertical, correcting slightly for yaw with slight left rudder, very slight relaxation through the inverted (Martin wanted me to pull harder). I thought I could feel buffet but it was very slight, reducing to half power with corrective right rudder once pointing vertically down then a hard pull to get the nose up again to (with slight left rudder) regain lost height whilst still having excess energy, remembering not to apply power until the speed had dropped to 90 knots. Just loving it... I felt that I would become frazzled with too much more so asked Martin to demonstrate the stall turn to the right whilst I was still feeling ok. Again he asked me just to do it..which I must admit I was excited about...sorta learning on the job!!!... I know the movements but the chippy was going to be more difficult than the Yak... Pitched down dived for 120 knots, hard pull through, power to max at 45 degrees.... look left look right look left look right, then kick around right, whilst stick was moving outboard and forward, when vertical, check with the rudder, centralized stick and once gathering speed, 1/2 power then pull out... I must have done around 8 of these too. Learning, my four looks were taking a shorter time than Martins so I was kicking around too early and it was messy... I slowed it down and affirmations of getting it right were coming from the back. On the first one the ASI was at about 60... discussed later that that was probably alot lower because of the lag with the chippy. Difference being you could feel the slow down and didn't need to look at the ASI... all the remaining ones I had no idea what the speed was. Another thing I did wrong was move the rudder too quickly... and I was putting in the check rudder before we were vertical by 15-20 degrees. After 8 iteration I was getting it better and better. Martin was really enjoying himself in the back. Don't think he gets many studes as daft as me wanting to do so many loops and stall turns until the people on the ground start feeling sick.

After about an hour it was time to head back. Before I knew it I was at 1000 ft for a right base join on runway 28. I came in for a wheeler and did a really good job of it. Kept 1000-1100 rpm on and had her down smoothly. With Blackpool's long runway there is no point in rushing these things. Top session. Can't wait to continue doing aeros in this aircraft.

Session Six

The only day of good weather amongst a week of bad weather. I'd really timed it well.

During the checks I noticed that the tailwheel was not only bald but badly worn and short of a few Psi!! Martin fetched his foot pump and I tried to get the pressure in the right place. We barely suceeded and agreed to continue the sortie. Was treated to a fabulous run and break by a couple of Tucanos which subsequently landed and parked nearby.

Once we were going I ended up stuck at the hold for almost 15 minutes due to incoming traffic.

Take-off went well made easy with the fact that there was no wind at all!!! Out via Saint Annes Pier and Southport and over to Warton. We used the area between Southport and Chorley as our aerobatic area. Warmed up with some aileron rolls to the left. None too shabby. I did the most perfect barrel roll to the left (unrepeatable) Lots of barrels and ailerons rolls either side all not as good as the perfect one!! All learning nontheless. I then put some barrels and aileron rolls together in mini sequences to use the exit speed and attitude to feed another figure. I was ready then for loops. I pre-briefed Martin what I was about to do then did a couple of loops. Not perfectly straight. Needed a little right rudder over the top but all went very well. On one I noticed a loss in height of 400ft. Noted by Martin that I needed to pull a little harder to make them tighter. Then I wanted to do stall turns and pre-briefed for these. I did three in total. On the first one I let the plane get too slow and probably was over on my back by a few degrees. I felt the pre-stall buffet but she came around to the right all the same and flew the downslope without too much drama. I think I was reducing power too early although Martin didn't mention it. (nb to self you are almost stalled....not the time to reduce power...let the plane regain flying speed and meet the increasing speed with safe power reduction to avoid overspeeding the prop. These got better and paddling seemed to keep better control as well as an angle that appeared just less than 90 degrees vertical. (NB 4 looks with paddling works). Without looking at the airspeed its one of those figures you do with feel.

Decided to head to Barton and do some circuits. On the way I did some lazy 8's - I then realised that I wasn't feeling very well and had made myself feel sick... I tend to understimate the effects on G on my own body and can't expect to maintain my G tolerance with a month away from it even though I do!!!

Joined a busy circuit first off a normal approach to a 3 point touch and go. Noting that two wing lengths was not appropriate when there was no wind. Still turned in fairly tightly. Started a slip from the motorway. Corrected the picture at over 100 ft. A nice 3 pointer with the right picture. Stick forward and power on for the go around. Came into land with short field approach at 50 knots. Looked like we'd not make it in but it came right and stick back and she settled well. The Chippy has lovely dampening and was quite well behaved despite my paddling expecting the worst. Could even use dabs of brake without too much aggro.

Session Seven

After a cup of tee and a very informative tour of Charlie Mike the Tiger Moth parked in the hangar.

Agreed to do a short field take off (15 degree flap), left hand on the throttle. Right arm across the stick holding it back whilst holding the brake on. Full power set, let the speed build and stick forward to lift the tail reasonable quickly. Before I knew it she was flying and I pitched her up at 55 knots into a steep climb. Once at a safe height pitch nose forward to get 65 knots before raising flap (the main gotcha) then allowed the speed to 70 by which time she wanted to pitch up and climb with a steeper attitude.

Over to Chorley Lakes, after a HASELL check (remembering the cage the DI) I went into the zone doing Lazy 8's thoroughly enjoying this machine. Judging when to pull back is for me the tricky part to minimise the speed build so that wings are level when hitting 105 knots.

Martin then suggested a climb to 3000ft for a falling leaf. I'd heard it decribed but never have been exposed to one. He stalled the chippy keeping the stick back he preceeded to raise each wing drop with only the rudder; felt quite weird and I think we were on the verge of a spin. After about 5 or 6 wing recoveries we'd lost over 500 ft. Martin suggested I try. I elected to climb a little higher to 3400 ft to try this. Power off correct for yaw and progressively move the stick back watching the VSI and the picture. All I had to do then was wait for a wing to drop. It then became a game of predicting the drop as it was developing to stop the wing from dropping. I suspect I wasn't holding the stick all the way back as my wing drops were not as violent as Martins. Enjoyed this although in the back of my mind is the fact that we are inviting a spin at a relatively low height. Love to try this in the yak at a much higher altitude. I think she'd bite my arse and spit me out!!! All good learning and certainly a great was of exploring slow stalled flight behaviour.

Back to Blackpool via Marsh Side handed directly over to Tower for a left Base join No.1. Martin wanted me to touch down half way down the long runway so I drove her down wit a tad of power not worried about a long float. Wheeled her on and kept the rear wheel up as long as I could, eventually she ran out of energy and I sticked back as sson as she touched still paddling. Expecting a 31 via Alpha to the fuel pumps I was told to hold at Alpha due to the Helimed chopper wake turbulance.

A great day out - two great sessions, Very happy with my aeros and handling in general considering it was my first flight in 5 weeks or so. The Falling Leaf raised my game and more of the same required to improve my slow speed handling of this lovely aircraft.

Session Eight

Weather was a little iffy so Barton was out. Looked OK in our play area at Fleetwood. 20 knots down the runway take-off went well. Chippy feels like home now. We were going to do some slow rolls but Martin suggested we did stall turns to the left.

I warmed up along Pilling Sands with an aileron roll to the left and a barrel roll to the right. None too shabby.

Martin demonstrated a stall turn to the left. Pitched down for 120 knots correcting for P factor with right rudder; pulled up increasing power and correcting for the yaw due to the gyroscopic tendency and P factor with left rudder. Less than 90 degrees. I felt the rudder kick around but we hung and stopped 45 knife edged; I felt the power come off but nothing happened... we bunted over and Martin admitted that he'd not got the full rudder deflection (one of my ailments from time to time). His next one was text book.

I preceeded to do several stall turns with varying degrees of success. Obviously this was going to be alot more difficult than a RH version. I didn't bunt over although it felt that it was possible at time the reduction of power really did work. I started out feeling the moment to kick around like I do to the right but this was not working. I was being too late and risking a bunt or tailslide. The way I got around it was looking left first when I was correcting for yaw when full power was applied; 3 further looks then a glance at the airspeed. Martin figured out that 55 knots was the righyt kick around speed. It wasn't just wait till you had to start the lick around earlier. Mistakes I was making was not accounting for the non linear reduction in power and about 1/2 of my attempts had unsatisfactory power reductions. what I did well was kill the rotation and most of my attempts actually came out on the right line. What I did notice was that with the power reduced there was a tendency for the airframe to shake like it was stalling. A check forward appeared to solve this as the speed was increasing. What was also different was that you didn't appear to need to outbound aileron like you do in the right one. Infact very little in the way of forward stick and aileron. Martin suggested a small amount of outboard aileron was sufficient. It was great session with the difficulty barrier being raised higher. I'm concentrating on smooth constantly moving controls especially in rolls. More to come

Session Nine

Martin had reported that the chippy had taken an age to start on the previous sortie. It turned out that we'd experience the same thing. Martin reckoned that the fuel had been sat in India Alpha so long it had reduced in aromatic content. Plus he reckoned that the aromatic content of had gas had been reduced an that there were problems at Barton starting certain aircraft as well. Initially six blades all off to clear Hydraulic lock. Then prime then suck in two.

After the normal routine failed and only succeeded in wetting the plugs he reversed the direction of the prop (backwards) and instructed me to open the throttle when he did so in an effort to draw out the fuel. (Blowing out he called it) We also tried starting without prime to remove the old fuel from the carburetor. Then only a small amount of priming. Long after I would have run out of ideas she started to fire and eventually she started and chugged into life.

Runway 28 was on. I'd not forgotten how to taxi her and the long taxi via Bravo Charlie and Echo to Echo 2 was a pleasure!! Even taxiing puts a smile on my face in this aircraft. She was up in short fashion. Already read back my clearance to St Anne's then to Southport Pier not above 1000ft!!! I was changed to Warton fairly quickly after being caught out with the auto flipping of the radio, or I'd not changed it over properly. Two Eurofighters were doing a formation take off according to the chatter. Never saw them. Once at Southport I turned towards Chorley and started to warm up. Aileron rolls and a Barrel roll. Then into a brace of wingovers and just enjoyed the sheer joy of this machine. Descended towards the Reebok; Called Barton and passed my message. Barton was hazy so I plotted the line visually from Leigh Flash to Barton. The Chill Factor was hidden.

Touch and goes - Ther first one was a normal approach to a 3 pointer and went quite well. Skipped into the air. I put the stick forward instead of back on the first touch...a little too early however to go around stick forward soon enough with power and paddling no problems flying again soon after. I was closing on the microlight ahead who was flying olympic circuits so I went to SSC with 15 degree flap and 65 knots. Second one was a little untidy but OK. I went to SSC again and did a short field coming in at 50 knots. rounded out a little high and dropped in not too firmly. Finally did a wheeler to land. There was no wind so I brought her in slow and she ran right to the end with the tail up. I was forced to stick back so I could apply gentle braking. Parked by the tower. Took in the beautiful day with a coffee in the clubhouse.

Session Ten

Performed a normal take off. Went East of Winter Hill climbing and looking for gaps - found an arena, crap horizon but nice cumulous clouds to aim at. Martin demonstrated the slow roll to the left. I then had quite a few attempts.. not bad for a first bash. Pitch down for 120 RH rudder to compensate the speed increase, ease up but not too high, LH rudder lead to 90 deg knife, applying touch of right rudder and starting to push the stick forward. From 90-180 degrees push and switching rudder, Martin was suggesting full LH rudder at inverted but that didn't seem to gel. It actually didn't seem to matter. The hard bit from 180-270 felt really weird and I wallowed around - conscious effort to apply almost full left rudder. Because it was a slow roll I could really feel the lap straps supporting my whole weight (these must be super tight), At the end of the figure Martin was pulling firmly on the stick. I wasn't pulling and we were exiting quite low. Or it seemed that way with the crap horizon it was hard to tell what was low or not. What probably feels like an untidy maneuver probably looks OK from the ground. Great for confidence controlling a slow rolling aircraft. More attempts required to get that better. Must really try and get the aiming point sorted in my field of view. Martin seemed quite happy with my attempts. Our little practice arena appeared to be getting smaller or shifting or both so decided to call it a day and head to Blackpool. A late clearance (I was already turning on final when I was cleared No1 to land. Wheeler to land helped by Martin with a LH wing down and set her on the LH wheel first. I was supposed to wheel her all the way to R31 but I lost speed and probably had the throttle close too fast and she adopted the normal 3 point attitude more quicker than I expected so we had quite a taxi. After refueling. I started he on about the sixth swing... Big grin as I taxied behind an airbus to put her away. After all the crap weather a really nice day out in the Chippy.

Session Eleven

Weather looked rather iffy. Gusting winds but almost down the runway. Agreed with Martin that we would see at Blackpool. Turned out lovely. The coast has its own weather system. High clouds; the wind was there but it would just make taxing more interesting. DEcided on on session up North at Fleetwood. Taxing as expected was feisty with lots of power changes and brake Dabs to keep heading ion the right direction. Really mastered this on the chippy now. Runway 28 intersection take off. Didn't see the speed, on such a long runway I am more concerned with paddling and staying central and you have to look out not in. With such a stiff wind 260/16 (ie 8 knot Xwind, 14 knot headwind) I knew we'd be up in no time.

There's no greater feeling that climbing a vintage aircraft out of Blackpool. Turned inside the pleasure beach to remain on the RH side of the line feature.

Once near 4000 ft, HASELL, remembering to cage the DI I started chucking her around and enjoying myself. Then into proper wingovers letting the speed come down to 50-60 knots over apex on the knife edge. Really concentrate on control harmony and smoothness. The purring from the back confirmed that they were having the desired affect. Refreshed myself again on Aileron Rolls and Barrel Rolls both ways and didn't do bad at all. Again control harmony smoothness, looking after the engine, trading speed for height to make the best use of energy (and height) conservation. Next slow rolls to the left. We were well into double figures, my entries were good, Right rudder at 90 not too much, sometimes I put LH rudder in too early and sometimes too much. The thing to bear in mind is that whilst you still had energy you didn't need aggressive controls. I was reducing my throttle at the right time so that the engine wasn't trying to work hard with internal surface that were unlubricated for a short time. Pushing at the right time and the control of the onset and extent of the LH rudder was the key. My very first one I realized that my lap straps were not tight enough as I flopped around. Super tight and I became one with the airframe. At inverted pushing hard skyward maintaining aileron to continue the turn, transferring to LH rudder. At 270 degrees with almost full LH rudder switching to pulling. If you didn't pull in time you ended up off track and with more nose down than was required. All in all they were not perfect but Martin was very complimentary. Said he'd never done so many slow rolls in one session and he'd never taken anyone so far with aerobatics. We'll were are far from finished and when we get the Yak back we'll be doing some comparisons.

Finished up and reported at Poulton; Approach immediately handed me over to Tower who gave me a Right Base join for Runway 28 report abeam the tower. Started descended at 1700 rpm carb heat, after I called abeam I was given RB R28 No.1!!! Easy peasy.. Martin said that Blackpool had been requesting pilots to request the pumps on their final call which I did. The wind seemed to be gusting more at 1000ft and I was being buffeted around abit. Port wing down, touch of right rudder; opted for 80 knots to penetrate the gusting, flew along the runway on the centerline; determined that I'd not be taxing for 1/2 an hour like we did last time. I had to cut the power after 1/3 of the runway as she wasn't coming down; Wheeled her on and paddled for dear life whilst feeding in forward and port stick...worked out beautifully and eventually the tail wanted to come down; so switched to back stick and keeping straight; R31 Alpha to the pumps. Most direct route.

Absolute top session - does get any better than that.

Previous Tailwheel Ground School 2008 and (Twinstar Tour)- Blackpool ANT

I've wanted to do this for ages. Martin agreed to do my tailwheel conversion on the De Havilland Chipmunk at ANT. G-BXIA; 1951 in the Army colour scheme which IMHO is the best. What a beauty!! Unfortunately, although there wasn't a cloud in the sky the horizontal vis was really crap. This was confirmed later in the afternoon when one of the ANT instructors said it was a pea souper.

The ground school was gonna happen anyway since the chippy is very different beastie from anything I've flown before (save the Citabria). First of all Martin gave me a detailed tour of the front and rear cockpits. Flown solo from the front (my spot for dual) this is where we concentrated. What struck me was that the dashboard was close to the seat and the stick was fairly short. Looked cramped but actually wasn't bad at all once sat in it. Martin demonstrated the tricky harness. Right through every control and gauge. Fairly straight forward stuff. There was an electric starter and a modern compass in the front. The Cartridge starter hole was present but the gubbins had long been removed. Carrying bandoliers of shotgun cartridges about an International airport wouldn't half piss people off.

Martin went through the whole external check. Tapping the fabric surfaces noting changes of tone which represents. All the hinges and controls looked very sturdy and over designed. With both cowlings up engine inspection was easy. Gipsy major (same engine as the Tiger Moths) Oil and brake fluid easily accessible. Nearly all of the inlet, exhaust and block attachments are easily views. I like the fuel inspection areas. No stall warner. A pitot head rather than a tube which incorporated both static and dynamic holes.

Left side Gypsy Major Engine

After checking the weather several times in the day. Martin suggested we take a look at the Garmin 1000 equipped Twinstar at the Flight Academy. What a machine. All the leading edges had anti ice strips which incorporated very small holes not visible by eye. The same system fed the prop anti ice and the windscreen anti ice system. Connelly leather. Dashboard like the starship enterprise....all very impressive.. ECU x 2...Somehow ECU's done give me the warm feeling (after my vauxhall experience) Martin fired up the Garmin 100..Very impressive. Not too difficult to use. I reckon a few hours playing with a simulator and you'd be away with it. FSX comes with a usable Garmin 1000 display as an introduction. I couldn't help feeling that all that gubbins for an hours flight for a bacon sandwich was overkill. being an engineer I prefer bumps grinds and simple electrics. The tail bumper would certainly require a flatttish landing attitude. I liked the though behind the PTFE protection strips. Trailing link mains would make wing down very interesting. Wooden props!! apparently to keep the weight down. I'd jump at a ride in one. As for twin rating; the Twin Star is the only one I could probably afford to do a rating in but quite honestly I'm not looking for IR so it ain't really the butt chasing machine I'm interested in. Still it was an interesting tour

Garmin 1000

Back to the chippy. I sat in it and we went through all the cockpit drills. Glad we did as my prepared checklist was in slight error. We went through the hand swinging / pilot routine a few times. It was good to do more than touch drills. I got a good feel for the brake and the flaps. Especially the brake as it plays a special part in taxing with the last 5 degrees of rudder (with no brakes on providing differential braking anyway) Plus the taxing setting with progressive differential braking. Interesting was the action to take during a ground loop. Pull the brake!! will provide differential braking action to the correct wheel because you are already trying to control with rudder. The clockwise rotating metal prop will provide opposite torque reactions to what I am used to. That will be one of the main things I have to get used to. try again next week.