As my 14th birthday was approaching, I sussed out where I was going to start training for my Private Pilots License. I chose to learn at the Leicestershire Aeroclub. It was on a small airport that doesn't have commercial traffic operating from it, and lots of interesting people were in the flying club itself. It seemed like a friendly and enjoyable place to be. When I rocked up there to make inquiries, all the instructors were surprised that I wanted to start learning so young, but they could see how serious and determined I was. Since I was about to become of legal age to log flying time towards a license, they were happy to start my course.
I booked my first lesson on my 14th birthday. I was going to learn in their fleet of Cessna 152s. To actually fly from the left-hand seat and be given control during the take off was one thing. To be able to write that first entry into my log book and count it towards getting a license carried such a huge element of satisfaction. From this point onwards, I knew that I was on the road to getting my license. It was a milestone I had been waiting for, for a very long time.
The picture below is myself and my instructor walking back from the aircraft after my first lesson aged 14.
The airfield was 30 miles from where I lived. I used to catch a bus, a train and finally a taxi to get there. For the first two years, I used to have one lesson each month. My parents use to help me out with this financially.
The first few hours are spent learning how to fly straight and level, climb, turn, and descend. Then I was put into the circuit. That is where you really learn how to take off and land properly. You can fly several circuits in a lesson.
I left school at 16 when I graduated, and got a job in the office of a computer training course company.
When I started working in that office, that was when I started paying for flying myself. That was when I used to go weekly. The job didn’t pay very much, but at 16, I didn’t used to spend any money on anything else. I spent practically everything I earned on learning to fly.
I got myself trained and put on the airfield fire and rescue team.
I was then on the roster for a half-day shift every three or four weekends. The club gave me a little bit of flying credit in return, which helped pay for lessons.
Eventually, I became old enough to be sent on my first solo circuit. I was more than ready to do this before hand, but I wasn’t allowed to do it until I was 17 years old. Normally, you wouldn’t know when you are going to fly solo for the first time, as the instructor springs it on you when you are ready. It was different for me, since I was ready to go before I was old enough, I knew that it would come for me on my 17th birthday. This event normally happens between 10 and 20 hours into the course.
My family came along to see this. The surface wind was favouring the runway that runs past the clubhouse window, so everyone there was watching.
After two circuits with my instructor, he told me to taxi back to the start of the runway where he stepped out. For the first time ever, I was in complete command of the aircraft. I was just a little apprehensive for a moment as I had lined up on the runway before feeding in the power to takeoff. Once I had taken off, all my apprehension was gone and I felt as confident flying it as what I did with my instructor. Even if I do say so myself, that was a smooth landing, and it was captured on video in January 1999.
You can't hear it in the video, but just after I had landed and as I was turning off the runway, my instructor spoke to me over the radio and said, "Well done". I had a grin from ear to ear for the next week after that.
The other major milestone that I had been waiting for on the same day as well as my first solo, was my first driving lesson. This did take place on the evening of my birthday. I couldn't wait to pass my driving test so that I could travel everywhere by myself in the comfort of my own car. No more trains, buses, taxi's and lifts.
I had actually been given a car when I was 15. It was an old Austin Maestro that had been in the family since it was new in the early 1980s. It was about ready for the scrap heap. But rather than scrap it, my Dad gave it to me. With a little help from him, we were getting it road worthy so that I could have it as my first car when I turned 17 and passed my driving test.
After my first solo, I had to fly 3 hours of solo circuits to build up my confidence of taking off, flying and landing by myself, then I learned how to navigate. My Instructor and I made a couple of cross-country flights together. Then came the diversions, simulated low cloud and all eventualities covered. Soon after, I was sent on my first local area navigation trip by myself.
The next major event to look forward to was my Qualifying Cross-Country. This is where you take the aircraft out for the whole day, and you fly by yourself from your home airfield, and land at two other places. Then you return in the evening.
I was 30 hours into the course now, and I made my qualifying cross country flight in the summer of 1999 on the day of the eclipse when everyone was heading south to places like Devon to watch it get dark for a few moments. I stayed at Leicester during the eclipse, and then I departed.
I flew straight to my first airfield, and landed no problem. It was an airfield of the same size and category as the one I was learning at. The next location I had to land at was somewhat larger, with commercial traffic operating from it. It sounds daunting at first, but when it comes down to it, I just followed instructions given by air traffic and I didn’t run into any problems. It wasn't difficult.
Finally was the sector to go back home. There is something about approaching your home airfield. Unlike everywhere else you go when you come home, you hear familiar voices on the radio, you hear your fleet of aircraft call signs being used, and you know who everyone is. They all know who you are too. It’s a nice welcoming feeling when you are flying home from somewhere. After I landed back at Leicester, it was another one of those grins from ear to ear for another week.
By this time, I had learned to drive and passed my driving test. I had the Maestro all done up. I got it out of the corner and onto the road the very next day after passing.
Of course running a car aged 17 meant that money started going on that as well as flying. For me though, driving was very necessary and I couldn't be without it the same as I couldn't be without flying. I was far too restricted before I could drive around in my own car. There were so many things I couldn’t do, and places I couldn’t get to. So with the few pennies I had to rub together, I just about managed.
The fire covers helped pay for flying lessons, and then later I was asked if I would like to start washing the club aircraft in return for flying credit. Those aircraft were dirty, and the club knew that I would be grateful for any other opportunities to gain flying credit other than by paying for it with real money. So this helped myself and the club out. I used go to the airfield one evening each week after work, and spend around 3 hours washing an aircraft. We were often there till very late in the night, working under the main light on the front of the hangar. There was a girl in a similar position. She joined me for a while, and we used to do the washing together till 3am sometimes.
Eventually, I came to the end of the course when everything on the PPL syllabus had been completed. So it was time for my skills test with an examiner. I arrived at the airfield in the morning and had a briefing with him. He told me to stay relaxed and to treat it like any other flight as if I was going with my instructor. The test was broken into two parts. Navigation including diversion, and then general handling.
During the Navigation part of the test, the examiner had his face buried in an article and made believe he was reading it. Then he opened the window slightly I think to rest his elbow on the side. Having such a laid back examiner who seemed like he was enjoying himself made all the test nerves go away. He wasn't really reading the article, he was peering over the top of it. It was his nerve calming method and it really worked.
Once the first leg of the navigation exercise was complete, he threw the article in the back. We had to descend low level to simulate being forced down by the weather, to remain below cloud and keep in sight of the surface. Then I was thrown a diversion and got a little lost. I had the map opened out fully in the cockpit at one point, trying to find a radio frequency for the airfield that he told me I had to divert to. This was before the days when frequencies were printed on the airfields in the charts.
When I found it, we landed at the diversion airfield. This was now half way through the test. We had a break here, and got some lunch. On the way back, he tested me on general handling including slow flight, stalling, practice engine failure. Once back at the home airfield, a series of circuits including short field take-offs and landings.
After we stopped, he didn't tell me in the plane. He kept me in suspense till we got back to his office and he handed me the PPL application forms with a big grin and a hand shake.
It was like the end of an era. I had been waiting since forever for this to happen. The license was taking around 4 weeks to be delivered. While I was waiting, I got checked out to fly the PA-28 Piper Archers which the club had. These are four seat touring aircraft. I also got my instructor to teach me some basic aerobatics. I was fortunate to be in a club that had a couple of Cessna 152 Aerobats. The video below is of me flying aerobatics in one of the Cessna Aerobats. It was taken several years later when I had become alot better at them.
Back to 1999, the day my license arrived. My dad woke me up when the mail man came. He shouted "You have a parcel, it’s recorded delivery". There is only one thing that can be. I ran down the stairs faster than the speed of sound to get my parcel. I opened the envelope and out came the very document that I had been waiting so anxiously for, for many years. I looked out the front door and into the sky. I couldn’t resist. License through the post, weather was perfect, everything suggested that I should go flying now. So that afternoon, I took my Mum and Dad for a ride in the Piper Archer pictured below and flew over our house.
Photograph above is thanks to Neal Harris.
I maintained my occasional weekend fire covers at the airfield. I quite enjoyed it, and it helped pay for some private flying that I would come to do now that I had my license. I also applied for my Air to Ground Radio operators certificate. This meant I could be rostered to man the tower. This was quite a valuable experience, and very enjoyable. The airfield was uncontrolled. We were never Air Traffic Controllers, but we were there to answer calls, give runway information and altimeter settings. We could advise aircraft of other traffic that may be a factor. I used to look forward to my shifts in the tower.The picture below was obviously taken when it wasn't so busy if I had my legs up on the desk and I could talk to Emma.
