Lesson 35 PPL
17 Aug 2005This lesson was all about getting some experience flying into controlled airspace. The closest which takes GA, was Cardiff, so that’s where I went with my instructor via Crediton and then Minehead (flying over Butlins!). We had to wear life jackets because we were crossing a large area of water. It was very very hazy and we couldn’t see very far but it was within VFR limits, so we climbed up to 3000’ as we flew up.
We were cleared to join controlled airspace and then received joining instructions for runway 12, we had to fly a right base which turned onto final, right as you reach the threshold of the runway, so we were in a 30 degree bank about 200 ft above the runway!
We leveled out just above the runway, and then I landed really smoothly, once on the ground, we took one of the fast exits, turing off the runway at much higher speed than normal, so that we could get clear quickly as it’s a much busier commercial airport than any i’d been to before.
We parked up on the south side, paid the landing fee, had a drink, watched a Boeing 767 take off (making our Cessna 150 look tiny!!) then jumped back in, took off and were cleared out of controlled airspace. I navigated back to Plymouth with all the calculated headings and speeds etc lining up, and landed very smoothly again onto runway 13.
It was quite fun, but also a little nerve wracking flying into Cardiff in the controlled airspace, because they clear you for a specific altitude and a heading and you have to stick to it completely as they are watching you on a screen and keeping you separate from the jets, but it was a really good flight and day.