10th November 2010 - All is not lost...

Just a quick update - after some discussion with Adam, it would appear that I'll be flying G-AVKI for a little while longer. I'm currently sorting out a few issues that cropped up on the Permit renewal but expect to be flying her again in early 2011. Should get a few hours on her before she leaves for good this time and I'm very much looking forward to it!

My last aerobatic flight (for a while at least...)

Well, I've enjoyed dipping my toe into the field of aerobatics but for now I've come to the end of the line. As with many things it comes down to cost v enjoyment. Aerobatics doesn't come cheap, although I think I managed to do it for as little as possible! However, since I started on this journey last september, I've also done two flying tours in my Shadow. The first in June was Fly UK which took me to the north of Scotland and back, the second in September took me to france for 5 days. Limited funds dictate that I can afford to do either aerobatics or touring and I've chosen to go with touring for now as I've found that although aerobatics is great for the duration of the flight, touring is fun throughout the whole experience.

My last flight in Nipper G-AVKI comprised loops, rolls, chandelles and most fun of all - spinning! I landed (as ever) with a big grin on my face and as I shut down I can't help but think how lucky I've been. It's been a blast...

10th July - rusty!

I've had a busy few weeks since I last flew the Nipper, not least of which was taking part in FlyUK 2010 in my Shadow which was great fun.

This Saturday, I flew the Shadow to Marham, strapped Adam in so he could try it out and then took KI up to blow away the aerobatic cobwebs! I didn't do anything particularly taxing or impressive and unfortunately wasn't able to fly over the runway which was frustrating. It's very difficult to assess yourself without a line feature below. However, I did the usual loops, rolls, chandelles and a spin, all of which went well. As before, the thing I need is continuity, but I suspect that I will only manage a few flights between now and mid-August due to family commitments.

For the record, Adam really enjoyed flying the Shadow; I think he wants one!

04 June Finally - stall turns and some bloody fast spins!

I've flown KI 7 times since my last post on 25th May (including twice today) but haven't updated the blog as to be honest, I haven't really done anything notable. That changed today as I headed up through a grotty inversion layer into beautiful clear skies above 4000'. Finally conditions were ideal for a decent attempt at mastering the stall turn, so continuing up to 6000' (just to be extra safe) I did the HASELL checks and gritted my teeth...

Not sure whether it's just familiarity (and currency) with the aircraft, improved handling on my part or a combination of the two, but stall turning seemed to go very well today - unlike my previous abortions. I can't promise that a hypothetical observer would have given me top marks for appearance, but I managed to get the Nipper vertical, throttle back, apply full right rudder with a reasonable amount of opposite aileron and round she went. I did this quite a few times in a row and all went pretty much the same. I was literally whooping for joy during each one and felt genuine satisfaction.

I think the stall turn has been more challenging than the other manoeuvres I've flown because it isn't as natural feeling - I can't explain it any better than that (sorry!). I can honestly say that I can loop and aileron roll all day now, with a Chandelle at each end of the runway for good measure. My 1/2 cubans and reverse 1/2 cubans are ragged and inconsistent but I'm having lots of fun trying to get them right!

As for spinning, I have discovered that the Nipper is awkward to spin consistently, particularly to the left. In a spin to the right (with the engine), you have to be dogged in holding pro spin rudder; initially, it turns in gently and even with full back stick shows a tendency to come out, but if you persevere, it suddenly tightens up and you get one hell of a rate of rotation which is much, much faster than the Citabria. I still don't know why, but spinning is my favourite manoeuvre, maybe because it is just so instantly gratifying and quite dramatic!

Suffice to say, I'm still loving aerobatics. My goals for the future will require another lesson as I'd like to try flat and inverted spinning and also barrel rolls. I'm REALLY looking forward to that!

Oh, and I really MUST sort out a camera mount and get some video to post!!!

25 May learning, improving and my first unintentional spin!

Had 35 mins of good aero's today overhead Honington (also had 30 mins yesterday too, but nothing remarkable to report!).

Anyway, I've finally realised why I go all skew-wiff on the half cuban. I haven't been centralising the rudder before pulling through into a the loop - simple really. Also managed to get it into a spin without trying. Felt it flick to the right from the reverse half cuban. Too much rudder input I think. Opposite rudder stopped it and I dived away, although I pulled on quite a bit of speed - although not quite to VNE.

Still haven't tried stall turns again though as I want a min height of 5000' and the cloudbase has been around 4000' these last 2 days. We shall see what the rest of the week brings...

Lots of fun today!!!

23 May a good ferry flight from Marham to Honington

Had a good ferry trip today; climbed to 5000' over Marham with gliders below and span, rolled, looped etc so that majority owner Adam could watch. Mind you, having watched him earlier, I realise I'm just a speck at those heights really!

I then headed north to Penteney Lakes and rendezvous'd with Flatty in his Rans S6, G-MZKE. Off we headed to Honington and Flatty got some cracking shots of me in flight - see below. Did lots & lots of turn back circles as it's quite difficult trying to fly the Nipper in formation because of the disparity in speed between our two types. Over Thetford, Flatty called Lakenheath to tell them he was descending and so I called climbing as I wasn't ready to land just yet... I quickly reached 5000' and did some more basic aero's before descending deadside to land on 27. A great little flight in perfect weather. Hopefully this week will let me explore and improve - should be fun!

Here's a very short video of me closing on Flatty's Rans and zooming away.

21st May - First spins in the Nipper and a really nice flight

Had a really good flight today, although KI was a pig to start! I took off on 01, just after Cessna 150 G-JAGS and climbed into the overhead. Following all my spin practice last week, I thought today was an ideal opportunity to spin the Nipper - I can't imagine I'll ever be more spin-current than I am now. After climbing to 6000', (allowing an extra 1000' for the unknown), I applied carb heat, slowly closed the throttle and did some practice stalls. Well, I just couldn't stall the Nipper! With the stall warner blaring away and about 30mph IAS, all that happened was a gentle nod and mush. The slightest check forward of the stick had me flying instantly, so with that in mind, I felt ready to try a spin. Throttle back, enter the stall (well, sort of!) full right rudder and she tucked in nicely. unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view), KI would only do 1/2 a spin before pulling out, even before application of opposite rudder - how begnign is that! Back up to 6000' and I tried a spin to the left with the same result. Not as thrilling as I'd expected and not a patch on the Citabria, but fun nevertheless. After that I had a great chuck about with the usual loops, rolls, chandelles etc etc. Total flight time was 50 minutes, partly because I had to follow G-JAGS in and JAGS was flying massive 'GA-type' circuits. A little surprising really as it was being flown by a couple of Tornado pilots. Mind you, I expect they get all the excitement they need from the day job! Next week KI will be over at Honington, I have the week off and my mission will be to nail the stall turn, something that has eluded me on my few attempts so far...