"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.