This week I did my Training Area Solo Check and went to the Aviation Careers Expo. I was a bit rattled after my last flight to Tenterfield and my next flight was the Training Area Solo Check, so I really wanted to nail it and get a good flight in to try and build some confidence back up. I had a great call with my Uncle Matt which helped, it was good to get some outside perspective and just talk with someone who has been where I was. I revised over what I could, but at the end of the day it does come down to practice and experience. No amount of desk flying can make up for actually doing it for real. Preparation does help don’t get me wrong, but actually flying is completely different and will take time to master the skills, there is no way around that.
It was a fairly cloudy day and once again Jack and I headed down to the Gold Coast training area where we did some Forced Landings, Steep Turns and a Stall. Everything went really well. I felt more confident in making decisions, really trying to take away as much as I could from the previous flight and apply it to this one. On the whole I was really happy with my performance, I enjoyed the flight a lot. We came back and did a few circuits as my landings were starting to get a bit flat, so it was good to have a few practices at really getting the nose up. After the flight Jack went through a thorough pre-flight inspection, talking about various aerodynamic design features and parts of the aircraft we hadn’t been told about yet, like all the different antennas. It was good to have a deeper understanding, seeing as the PPL Flight Test is getting ever closer.
On Saturday a few of us went up to Aviation Australia in Brisbane for the Aviation Careers Expo 2016. We were all there to represent our school, Australian Wings Academy, and talk to anyone interested in starting their flying training. It was great to talk with people interested in flying and see a bit more of the industry. I’m now pretty excited to get back in the air and do my Training Area Solo, which all things going right should happen this week.
