Multiflight PPL student Adam Rahnavard is moving ever closer to gaining his Private Pilot’s Licence at the Multiflight Flight Training Centre at Leeds Bradford International Airport, Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK. His latest PPL flight training saw him complete a dual cross country flight. You can read here about this part of his flight training at our Leeds flying school:
“I had to keep a closer eye on the weather than normal given the distance I would be travelling for the dual cross country nav exercise. Under Paul’s supervision I would need to fly from Leeds to Durham Tees Valley Airport, land and then fly to Humberside Airport before coming back to Leeds. On the morning the visibility on route, despite it forecast to be a nice day, was a slight concern. I assessed the weather fully and made a decision to go with it. I contacted Paul and set off for Multiflight.
I was all planned up and ready to go so after the usual checks I was set to take off from runway 32 and head for the first checkpoint, which would be Harrogate. I knew how to get there so that’s where I had planned my route from. I did have my doubts once I had taken off if I had made the right decision to proceed as the haze was less than helpful. I was concerned that it may get worse and given I would be flying for 2.5 hrs overall could mean problems. Fortunately as we moved further north towards Ripon and I climbed to cruise altitude it became clearer.
On approach to Ripon I attempted to contact RAF Leeming for a basic service and for a MATZ penetration on route to Durham. I tried twice and it became obvious they were closed today. With that in mind I moved to my next frequency which would be Durham Radar. On contact with them they confirmed I would receive a basic service and that I was cleared to enter their zone via Northallerton and not above 1500 feet: seemed straightforward until I realised I was finding it a challenge in the slight haze to see the airfield made even more difficult by the fact I had not flown there before. I was confident however that my calculations were correct and a minute later I could see the airfield. Shortly after I was passed to tower and given a left base runway 23 join. This was straightforward and I positioned in for approach. My approach and landing were fine apart from the fact I came in a bit too quickly. This landing to save time was just ‘touch and go’ but when I do my solo I will have to stop to get my paperwork signed off.
Following the ‘touch and go’ I turned left to exit the zone via VRP Stokesley; a little tricky to spot but I eventually spotted it and proves if the calculations are accurate you should arrive overhead as planned. Once over Stokesley I set heading for the longest stretch down to Humberside Airport. I needed to fly as accurately as possible as the North York Moors don’t have a lot of ground features to assist in confirming position. Soon after passing over the Cleveland Hills, Durham passed me on the Humberside for a basic service and eventually approach into the airport. On this leg there was time to enjoy the stunning views of North Yorkshire and the coast out to my left. I could eventually see the Humber Estuary coming into view and with a few other features I could confirm we were on track. A few moments later Humber Radar asked us to route in directly via Elsham Wolds and position for a right base runway 20 join. I could see the airfield out to my left and turned the aircraft to position for circuit. With the local elevation being so low there was very little difference between regional QNH and QFE.
Following my landing we were asked to use the grass taxiway: this was a surprise as I had never taxied on grass. It was a little bumpy! We parked up on the main apron and shutdown. It was time for a much needed break and bit of lunch which we had in the main terminal building and an opportunity to discuss the flight so far which on the whole was going to plan. Paul had given me a few pointers on route but I felt I was doing ok.
After lunch we jumped back in the aircraft and requested taxi to get back out on the runway via Bravo. At Humberside there are a number of large helicopters coming back and forth which take people back and forth out to the North Sea oil platforms. These helicopters were huge and the noise coming off them when they were just idling was incredible: they were breathtaking to watch taking off. Our taxi clearance was give after one of these helicopters and we were soon on runway 20 ready for take off. Once airbourne it was a right hand turn to head out over Elsham Wolds to head back to Leeds. I was passed to radar and continued the basic service. Back over the Humber river I set heading for Acaster Malbis: a via point on route back to Leeds. Once clear of the Humber it was time to move frequencies to Church Fenton as I would need a MATZ penetration and basic service to Leeds. They were open today and I was immediately given what I required. Once over Acaster Malbis I set final heading for Leeds a few minutes later moved back to Leeds radar for rejoin.
I have to admit I was flagging a bit by now as the concentration required for this long flight is immense. This is my excuse for my glide approach being a bit ropey! We were soon back on the ground and taxied back to Multiflight.
During the de-brief Paul seemed happy with the flight as a whole but reminded me the handful of mistakes I had made were down to rushing from time to time. Provided I did not rush he said there was no reason why the solo version would not go very well and he was very happy with my all round ability and standards. He gave me a few pointers to consider and next would be the solo cross country. I needed to plan the route up again but felt hugely confident having already done it and that I was at least a little familiar with the other airports.
I feel confident and excited about the solo. I will need to ask air traffic at both Durham and Humberside to confirm my approach and landing were ok so looking forward to the challenge!”
