Multi-Engine Instrument Rating

I passed my Multi-Engine Instrument Rating flight test last weekend. It was a foggy morning with a little less than 4000 meters visibility. Legally, this was ok to take-off but to be on the safe side, the departure was delayed and we didn't commence the flight test until 1500 hours after the fog had well and truely lifted.

To pass the so called 'check-ride' for the Multi-Engine Instrument Rating, I had to demonstrate to the CASA Approved Testing Officer that I can accurately fly instrument approaches for the NDB, VOR, DME and ILS. I had to also demonstrate two approaches conducted under asymmetric operations (ie, after one engine has failed) and safely land the aircraft from such a situation.

As expected, the testing officer failed the engine in the turn inbound on the NDB and as well as on the ILS at about 2000 feet. On both occasions, an approach to land on one engine had to be made successfully.

And would you guess that Murphy's law took effect on test day as well! LOL! My friggin auto-pilot was causing some problems so I abandoned its use for most of the flight and hand flew the aircraft for the 3 and half hours. Furthermore, my electric trim didn't work either after 1 hour into the flight and had no choice but to manually trim the aircraft. And due to the delayed departure, we arrived at night with this being my first night landing in this particular aircraft.

But despite all this, it all turned out well, with all of the requirements of my flight test being met. At about 1810, I touched down at Essendon airport, a tired but extremely happy man! :D I am now qualified to fly twin engine aircraft in all weather conditions. Woo hoo!

Now and then

When I first decided to get back into flying again after such a long absence, I really wasn't sure what to expect. The aviation scene has changed so much since I last flew. One significant difference is with air traffic control procedures. Unlike 13 years ago, pilots are now required to read back almost every instruction given to them by air traffic control. I had one today which went like this;

Me: " Essendon tower, Delta Bravo Romeo is ready (for take-off)"
Essendon tower: "Delta Bravo Romeo, runway two-six, line-up and wait."
Me: "Runway two-six, line-up and wait, Delta Bravo Romeo"
Essendon tower: "Delta Bravo Romeo, wind is now anywhere from one-seven-zero (bearing) to three-three-zero, crosswind up to one-five to two zero knots, turn before the upwind end of the threshold, runway two-six cleared for take-off, make left turn".
Me to myself: "WTF"!!
Me to Essendon tower: "Roger, copied the wind, make left turn before the upwind threshold, cleared for take-off, Delta Bravo Romeo"

... back when I first started flying, all that was needed to reply was my callsign "Delta Bravo Romeo", but these days ... you get the picture. ;)

As for other changes in the aviation industry, what has really let the cat amongst the pidgeons is this new license that's being developed by CASA (Australia's pilot licensing authority), called the MPL which stands for Multi Crew Pilot's License. Why this is so controversial is because in the past, trainee pilots who then went on to become airline pilots had to go through an 'apprenticeship' so to speak where they build up hours flying small planes before they could qualify to apply for jobs with the airlines. Traditionally, this meant flying small propeller driven aircraft for a few years until you've aquired around 500 hours of multi-engine command time. Now, with the MPL, all this is out the window since to qualify for the this type of license, all that's needed is no more than about 70 hours of flight time, after which, you could be sitting in the right-hand seat of an airliner in less than a year!

Furthermore, what this is also saying is that CASA doesn't seem to think that all of the experience that a pilot has acquired flying solo in light planes is useful at all in the airline pilot context. This goes completely against the way of thinking in the aviation industry where airlines have traditionally required pilots to have anywhere between 500 to 1500 flying hours of experience before they'll even look at your application.

The MPL is due to be implemented in the next 12 to 18 months. It sure is interesting times ahead in the Australian aviation scene.

Theory vs Practical

Every pre-flight brief I've delivered has been like teaching physics to a Year 10 science class. For every flying manouvre taught, there's a scientific explanation behind it which is briefed to the student before he or she performs the manoeuvre in the aircraft.

What makes teaching to fly much more interesting than a secondary school science lesson is that we always combine the theory with the practical flying. So rather than accepting the theory at face value, to actually demonstrate this to the student pilot in-flight is so much more convincing and it's a whole lot more fun than showing diagrams and Powerpoint slides in the classroom.

So you could say flight instructing is like conducting a science experiment (a costly one at that!) where aerodynamic theory is proven in the air by conducting the practical flying. Yesterday's pre-flight brief was on Climbing Turns, a procedure that's performed usually after take-off.

There are very few resources out there which show all the forces acting on an aircraft in a climbing turn. I've developed my own 3D diagram of this by combining two 2D diagrams; diagrams of forces in straight climb and forces in a level turn. After the brief, it was back in to the air again for the application of the theory where my grade 1 instructor pretended to be the student, with me showing him how to conduct the manoeuvre. We immersed ourselves in aerodynamic forces once again.

Straight and Level

Flying straight and level has to be the easiest maneuver all trainee ab-initio pilots learn. Afterall, you're pretty much maintaining a 'steady state' of flight since you're not climbing nor descending, nor turning. So as one of the first few lessons taught to the trainee pilot, the flying 'straight and level' sequence allows the newbie pilot to get a real grip of how the aircraft feels in flight.

As a flight instructor, teaching this sequence involves demonstrating the attitude that the aircraft will hold when flying straight and level at high, low and normal cruise speeds. The high speed cruise will have the aircraft at a slightly lower nose attitude and higher power setting (power set at 2500 rpm and 5 fw below the horizon); Low speed cruise will require a higher attitude (1 fw and a power setting of 2000 rpm).

To enter the 'maneuver', we first of all lookout for other aircraft in the vicinity, an important consideration that needs to be emphasized to all newbie pilots. We then set the power to the desired rpm for fast/slow/normal cruise. After setting the correct attitude, we then monitor the speed and once the desired speed has been attained, we then trim the aircraft. Having the aircraft 'in trim' balances out all the forces so that the aircraft does not deviate nor accelerate from straight and level flight. Once trimmed, the aircraft should fly without any further control inputs from the pilot .. a state of aerodynamic nirvana, if you like! ;)

My grade one instructor showed me an interesting technique to teach a student pilot how to trim the aircraft correctly. He first of all asks the student pilot to pick a landmark on the horizon; the pilot then flies to that landmark setting and maintaining a straight and level attitude. The instructor then starts moving the trim wheel down (nose upwards) and the student pilot should then start to feel an increase in forward pressure on the control column as he/she maintains that attitude. The student is then asked to let go momentarily of the controls after which, the aircraft's nose rises, and then regain the attitude for straight and level by moving the trim wheel in the correct manner to dissipate the pressure on the control column. As a result, aerodynamic nirvana is achived and the aircraft is trimmed.

I'll remember that one when I eventually start instructing :)

It's great to be back!

Would you believe the aircraft I flew for my flight review was actually involved in an accident the week after? Papa Whiskey Papa was flying back from the east coast of Australia when the weather turned bad. It developed ice on it wings resulting in the pilot having to perform a real forced landing into the field below. Well done to the pilot who got the plane down without any injuries to him or his pax. The plane was a write-off, however; it landed quite heavily into some trees and had its tailplane sheered off by the impact. It's amazing all onboard escaped serious injury, let alone death.

So you may have been wondering what I've been doing these last two months that I've been absent from blog world? Well, to explain it in four words or less .. "I hate ground school!!. Yep, I've been flying my study desk these last few weeks for the theory component of my Instructors' Rating course. With exam passed, "been there done that and got the t-shirt", I'm back in the air again. The next flight was what's called "Right Seat Familiarization". This is where, after flying 300 hours in the left hand seat, or the 'command seat' of the aircraft, I now sit myself in the right seat where the instructor operates from.

Well, is there much difference being seated in the right hand seat? The first thing that hit me was the lack of instruments directly infront of me. So I found myself having to look to see what altitude and speed I was flying at from a 45 degree angle. This isn't easy as it seems since the instruments are actually not flush with the panel and some of the numbers are obscured by its recess from the panel! Secondly, being in the right seat means that I now hold the control column ('steering' wheel) with my right hand and hold the throttle with my left hand. This requires some getting used to. But I'm sure with a few more hours in the right hand seat, this will become second nature.

Saturday 30th September was such a lovely day that I decided to take to the sky again on my own. This was my first solo flight in 13 years and although I was quietly confident that everything will be ok, boy, did I go through those checklists as thoroughly as possible! I would have spent at least twenty minutes with engine running on the ground going through the checks and rechecks. Once up in the air, it was a real pleasure to fly solo again and log my first 1.5 hours in command since my last solo flight in 1994 in VH-NAM. It's great to be back!

Here are some pics of my solo flight around the Melbourne CBD at 1500 ft.

Departing on climb to 1500 ft, headed for West Gate Bridge.


Arriving back at Esssendon, given clearance via Station Pier and Moonee Valley. A nice passing shot of the city with my camera phone.

"Cleared for take-off, make left turn"

"It's just like riding a bike. You never forget how to do it". Those were the words of the CFI as I left the briefing room and headed out to the aircraft this morning. After all these years, I'm finally back into it. I was quietly confident that all will go well with my flight review and that the Grade 1 instructor will give me the ok to fly solo again. With 300 hours in my log book so far, this should be enough to keep me out of trouble, but whether I can still see and feel the visual cues that a VFR pilot is required to have to fly the plane well, I'll only know when I actually get up into the air and start handling the beast. ;)

This is what's called "attitude" flying and forms the basis of good "hands-on" flying skills. In short, it's how the aircraft is maneuvered by the pilot to fly by visual reference to the horizon. Why the horizon? Because that's the main reference point outside of the aircraft that always stays the same. So generally, a high "nose up" attitude will mean an airspeed drop; a low "nose down" attitude, will mean an increase in airspeed and how you determine this is by visually referencing the aircraft's nose to the horizon. Now with experience, all this becomes second nature to the pilot, but for someone like me who hasn't flown in over a decade, will these cues automatically come back to me, or will I need to re-learn them?

One thing I've noticed now is that airport security is very strict, as a result of the events of 9-11. Access to the apron is through a secured turnstile which can only be accessed by entering a PIN number or swiping an ASIC (Aviation Security Identity Card). There are other security measures in place which I won't reveal in case there are potential terrorists reading my blog. (Please, no pranks with "Osama was here" in the comments, thank you ;) )After passing through the security turnstile (which I might add, wasn't there when I last flew out of this airport) I entered the apron to do the "pre-flight walk-around" of the aircraft.

The preflight check involves walking around the aircraft and making a visual inspection of the outside of the plane to make sure there are no bits falling off it. ;) A visual check of the fuel contents as well as oil is also required, and being the first flight of the day, a fuel drain is mandatory. A pre-flight inspection is something that's done with all aircraft from the tiny two seater Cessna 152 to Boeing 747s. I did the ceremonial 'kick of the tyres' and then strapped myself in the left hand seat. I was all set to go!

"Papa Whiskey Papa, cleared to taxi for runway two-six. Hold short of runway three-five", was the call from Essendon Ground. Essendon Airport used to be Melbourne's primary airport until 1970 when Melbourne International (Tullamarine) began operations. Some remnants of its days as Melbourne's primary airport are still visible today. The check-in counters at the northern end of the main terminal building are still there. The walkways from the main terminal building to the aircraft parking bays still have their gate numbers and destination signboards. And to top it all off, today as we taxied out to the runway, a vintage DC-3 took off from runway one-seven. It gave me an eerie nostalgic feeling which was somewhat appropriate given that the last time I flew was more than a decade ago.

"Papa-Whiskey-Papa, runway two-six, cleared for take-off, make left turn" . I've waited 13 years to hear that! I stumbled with my words in my read back to Essendon tower after receiving the take-off clearance. Back in the days when I learnt to fly, VFR pilots (in Australia anyway) only had to read back height/altitude requirements issued by air traffic control. These days, we read the whole lot back. I guess this is a good thing since ATC can then assume we've heard and received their instructions correctly. But whether we've actually understood it is another matter!

The adrenalin starts pumping as our Cessna 172 rolls down Essendon's east-west runway. I rotate at 60 knots and climb at the best rate of climb speed of 70 knots. I was quite pleased with the take-off and climb to our cruising altitude of 1,500 ft. My instructor was happy too and I can feel the confidence he has in me building. I was quite happy that I could maintain straight and level and those visual cues I mentioned earlier seemed to click into place. Although it's early days yet, since I still have a few take-offs and landings to demonstrate before I can be deemed as being a proficient pilot again, I've started well and my confidence is gradually building.

We head out south towards West Gate Bridge which is a reporting point on the edge of controlled airspace. Once leaving CTA, we head south west over flying one of Australia's oldest airfields, Point Cook. This is the site of the number 1 flying school for the Royal Australian Airforce. Now decomissioned as a military base, it has become the preferred airfield for Essendon based training aircraft to practice take-offs and landings, or also known as "touch-n-go's". We climb to 2,500 ft and proceed further west to practice forced-landing drills. A "forced landing" is exactly that; an emergency requiring the plane to land immediately, whether it be on a road, or a paddock or even in a football field. This emergency can be caused by an engine failure, for example, or a bird striking the propeller, but not an emergency toilet stop! ;) During training, this drill is practiced countlessly, so much so, that pilots should be able to do this in their sleep.

My instructor appeared happy with the way I conducted this drill and has a bit of a chuckle with my passenger brief which included an instruction to remove any false teeth that he may have and to place them in the seat pocket behind his seat. It's funny that this was how I was taught at my previous flight school, and no-one there thought anything of it! He gives me the nod to say I passed, and we climb to 1,500 ft and head back to Point Cook airport for "touch-n-go's".

This where I'm now assessed on my take-offs and landings. A "touch-n-go" is where we land the plane and then take-off again almost immediately after we've touched down on to the runway. In doing so, precious time is not wasted thereby allowing more planes to operate in the circuit at any one time.

When we joined the circuit at Point Cook airfeild, there were two other aircraft also practicing their "touch-n-go's". Although Point Cook does have a control tower, it's only operational when the airport is being used for military or other special operations such as air shows. So, most of the time, aircraft separation in the circuit area is conducted by the pilots themselves by issuing a broadcast of your position and intentions to all other aeroplanes in the area.

My first landing was a bit rusty after flying a relatively wide circuit and although my final approach was on profile and at the target speed of 65 knots, the flare was a little high due to my 'over-rotation' causing the plane to float down the runway for a little longer than desired. This usually results in a heavy landing as the plane's airspeed drops off too quickly whilst it's still 20 or so feet off the ground. I noticed the 'over-rotation' and was able to 'capture' the plane before the main wheels hit the ground, but still the landing was a little too rough for my liking.

On my second landing, I made a conscious effort to hold the aircraft straight and level as I flared, and kept holding the aircraft off (a term used to balance the forces of lift and gravity so that a smooth landing can be achieved) until I could 'sit the plane down' nicely on to the runway. I was much happier with this effort and so too was the instructor. Around we go again for another take-off and landing.

My third approach was on target again with both the approach gradient and airspeed and as I crossed the threshold, I rounded off and flared at a perfect height and we came to a nice smooth landing as the stall warning horn activated. This is normally a good sign indicating that the approach speed of the landing had been spot on. My instructor gives me the thumbs up and away we go for the final touch-n-go, but this time, without the use of flaps. This usually results in a faster approach speed with a higher nose attitude than normal and a longer 'hold off' with the flare. Again, I managed to 'grease' this one also, much to my delight.

My instructor's happy and he now directs me to fly back to our base airport. As we flew back to Essendon airport, he congratulates me on getting my wings back. I felt relieved that I still had 'it' and those visual cues that I acquired some thirteen years ago to operate the aircraft in a safe and competent manner all came back to me like it was yesterday. The CFI was right; it's just like riding a bike. You never forget how to do it. The sense of balance that you acquire when you learn to ride a bike is never 'forgotten' and likewise the sense that you use to fly a plane, whether it be straight and level or at the approach and landing phase. Once learnt, never forgotten.

My flying license is something which I value very much; it means a lot to me to be given the privileges of the license to fly an aircraft in both a private and commercial operation. In the next few weeks, I'll be completing the first phase of the Flight Instructor's rating which involves completing the ground theory component before I'm back up in the air again.

Le yin byan c'aik teh

Well, another blog entry for me this year! That makes two for the year .. and counting! Well I guess now I have reason to update my blog on a regular basis as I'd like to keep a record of these forth coming events in my life which means so much to me.

I've always been passionate about my flying. Although I've accepted the fact that I will never fly for an airline at my age, my passion for flying and aviation in general has brought me back into the air again. I've come to terms with the fact that I didn't make it in the airline industry but hey, that's life. When I was younger, that was quite devastating, but now I've come to realize that teaching others to fly can be just as satisfying and rewarding as being an airline pilot.

So after a break of about 13 years, it was back to flight school again to start my flight instructor's rating. My first flight after a long absence from flying will be this weekend with a grade 1 instructor. This is so that I can revalidate my pilot's license. He will assess my flying skills to see if I still "have it". Hopefully I'll be checked out after just one flight after which I can then fly solo again. :-)


My last solo flight logged in my pilot's log book was on June 11th 1994 on VH-NAM "November Alpha Mike", my favourite Cessna C-172 on the line. This was a night flight of just over an hour from Moorrabbin to Essendon. Apart from the log book entry, I can't even remember that flight, it was so long ago! I've had many hours in "November Alpha Mike" including a flight to Adelaide. Pictured above is "November Alpha Mike" being refuelled at Hamilton on our way back from Adelaide.

After all these years, I can still remember the safety drills I learnt during my training for the CPL. I've been practising them in my head when I drive to work and I'll also shamefully admit that I practice these drills on my home computer using Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004! ;)

My check flight in two days time brings me great excitement, but at the same time, I'm also a bit apprehensive since it's been so long since I was last in the air. Not only has there been a lot of changes to the rules and procedures, especially with respect to how the airspace is now divided, but the radio procedures used these days are quite different from what I was taught 18 years ago when I attained my Flight Radio Telephone Operator's License. Let's hope all goes well for my check flight this weekend. And I better get back to Flight Simulator 2004 to practice EFATO and forced landing drills!