Pilot guitarists unite!

Chalky

AK99 said:

Chalky said:

A good mate is a keen PPL so I got him rides in other aircraft including a Jet Provost and a Gnat.  Think the Gnat run in along the runway at 400kt and under 100ft into a high G break was enough for him at his age!

The Gnat is a bit of a special thing. They used to have one down in one of the hangers at Hurn in Bournemouth when I was there. Absolutely tiny - like an F1 car with wings.

Is there one still flying in the UK ?

I think there are a few here and in the US.  Its a very low tech aircraft compared to its performance.  My old nextdoor neighbour, Sqn Ldr Mike Vickers was the first man to do 500 hours (and 1000 and 2000) in the Gnat through development at Boscombe.

topdog91

Chris.B said:

@topdog91 ;;; getting the training in at this time of year is really hard, but it will be worth it in the end.

Good luck with your ongoing lessons and keep us posted with your progress.

Thanks for the encouragement and great to see that there are some kindred spirits on here.

I'd usually be happy with 2-3 lessons a month as it's weekends only for me. But my instructor (who is incredible) only works on Sundays and gets booked up super-quickly, combine that with the weather and shorter days and I flew once in each of September, October and November... I'm not in a super-rush but I don't like the feeling of leaving it too long, not getting things ingrained as well. My instructor is encouraging and says generally I'm not one to go backwards but still I don't like the feeling. Using most of winter to cram for Air Law, which I have to say is somewhat less fun that flying the aeroplane. I'm sure much of it is necessary to know, but it couldn't be much more dry.

Having said that I am pencilled in for this Sunday and next so I'd better dust off the flight sim and checklist etc...

hollywoodrox

I get mixed up with Gnats & Hawks , they look similar to the layman I seem to recall a non jet training aircraft called a chipmunk too .

drofluf

hollywoodrox said:

I get mixed up with Gnats & Hawks , they look similar to the layman I seem to recall a non jet training aircraft called a chipmunk too .

Gnat and Hawk are quite similar. The Hawk was the Gnat’s successor:

Gnat

Hawk

The Chipmunk is different altogether, it was a basic trainer whereas the Gnat and Hawk were advanced trainers, in the R.A.F. at least. Both were used by the Red Arrows. 

After he retired from the R.A.F. My father spent several years as a civilian instructor teaching Army Air Corps students in the Chipmunk. 

Teetonetal

roundthebend said:

Now I'm mid-40s I still have the itch. I'm intending to get into paragliding soon.

I have been paragliding as a tourist and did want to have a proper go...

However, living next to a landing field has put me right off.

greggreg66

Excellent thread!

I'm 33 hours into my PPL. I haven't had a lesson for nearly 2 1/2 months due to the weather cancelling the last 4 lessons, which is a right pain in the neck. Hoping to go this Friday and Saturday. I've so far done my first solo and first solo nav, I'm just about to start on landaways leading up to the QXC. Ideally I'd like to pass by the summer, but it really doesn't matter if I don't. I've also got 6 out of 9 exams passed. 

I'm learning at North Weald and there's a couple of gnats based there, in addition to Provosts. So good to see those fly. Best was when I was about to line up and a Provost snuck in before me and took off right in front of me, was so epic. 

Chalky

Ah the Chipmunk - I remember being in one and momentarily pulling 4g in a loop.  Tailwheel tyre burst on landing so had to be towed off the runway.

CavemanGrogg

I used to really really want to learn how to fly, get a license and everything, never had the time to do it, priced it, looked at the requirements, even went as far as to go for the required medical.  Now, having spent a lot of time around private, very small airports, and very short runways, even runways that could double up as a football pitch, I'm not so keen on it.  I can happily live with being the passenger.

Leftian

20 Years flying in the RAF (mostly C130) and then an Airline Captain and instructor before getting fed up with the roster running my life and moving into business (still aviation related). I have more flying hours than guitar hours, but that’s still a work in progress!

Musical_Mystery_Tour

I got my PPL in 1997, but I'm more of a glider pilot; it's just more fun and challenging to me keeping sopmething up in the air with no engine than it is flying a spam can, and there is also the fact that most gliders are stressed for +4 and -2G, so you can chuck them about a lot more. Being a glider pilot definitely makes you a better powered pilot too, as evidenced by the fact that most of the well-known successful airliner forced landings of recent years were carried out by pilots who had a lot of glider stick time - Miracle on the Hudson, Gimli Glider etc.

I  have a youtube channel to do with flight simming as well as my shiny new music channel which I just started (feel free to subscribe to them!)

I work in aviation too, as a ramp team leader at Manchester Airport, so I'm around aeroplanes all day at work. For those who don't know what a rampie does, we're the ones who supervise the loading and unloading of the cargo and bags on airliners, then push the aeroplane out onto the taxiways or tow them around and then supervise the engine start up procedures. I'm the one who is in charge of the team which does that, so I'm the one who gets the blame if there is a delay or a loading error.

It's a good job in summer, but it's bloody awful at this time of year, trying to fill out load sheets and stuff as the paper disintegrates in the rain whilst people are asking you to do all kinds of tasks. It's pretty high pressure in terms of stress, some airliners are only on stand for about thirty minutes, and in that time you have to get them fueled, offloaded, tip the bags, get the outbound bags out and loaded in their various designated compartments, get any cargo tied down, get the incoming passengers off, get the outbound passengers on, zip it all up, confirm all the paperwork etc, and then push it out for departure. If you are interested in aeroplanes though, it's better to do a job which is also something you like and having knowledge of aeroplanes and their systems comes in handy in my job from time to time if an aeroplane goes tech.

AK99

Musical_Mystery_Tour said:

I got my PPL in 1997, but I'm more of a glider pilot; it's just more fun and challenging to me keeping sopmething up in the air with no engine than it is flying a spam can, and there is also the fact that most gliders are stressed for +4 and -2G, so you can chuck them about a lot more. Being a glider pilot definitely makes you a better powered pilot too, as evidenced by the fact that most of the well-known successful airliner forced landings of recent years were carried out by pilots who had a lot of glider stick time - Miracle on the Hudson, Gimli Glider etc.

I learned to fly back in the day when I got my first real job and could (just about) afford the lessons. There was nothing with any aerobatic capability in any of the local clubs you could hire to learn more in, and I got kinda bored with the limited cross-country and bumps and circuits (or more accurately perhaps the cost of it). So basically after getting the license and doing the minimum to keep it current for a few years, I gave it up.

Had one session in a glider when I was at college with their gliding club though - and have always thought about going back and doing more of that, or indeed possibly paragliding.

Anybody any experience of having done both - able perhaps to comment on how they compare / contrast ?

hollywoodrox

drofluf said:

hollywoodrox said:

I get mixed up with Gnats & Hawks , they look similar to the layman I seem to recall a non jet training aircraft called a chipmunk too .

Gnat and Hawk are quite similar. The Hawk was the Gnat’s successor:

Gnat

Hawk

The Chipmunk is different altogether, it was a basic trainer whereas the Gnat and Hawk were advanced trainers, in the R.A.F. at least. Both were used by the Red Arrows. 

After he retired from the R.A.F. My father spent several years as a civilian instructor teaching Army Air Corps students in the Chipmunk. 

Thanks , I didn’t know gnats were used in the red arrows at first. The chipmunk is quite nice 

fretmeister

I've got about 8 hours worth of Air Experience Flying in Chipmunks from when I was an RAF Cadet.

I loved it.

drofluf

Leftian said:

20 Years flying in the RAF (mostly C130) and then an Airline Captain and instructor before getting fed up with the roster running my life and moving into business (still aviation related). I have more flying hours than guitar hours, but that’s still a work in progress!

My father spent most of his career on the C130 as Flight and running the OCU

McToot

I started to write a comedy crime novel in my early twenties based around the central character, a shady private investigator call Jet Provost. 

I didn't get far. 

As you were. 

guitargeek62

fretmeister said:

I've got about 8 hours worth of Air Experience Flying in Chipmunks from when I was an RAF Cadet.

I loved it.

Similar here, 6 hours in Vikings, and 2 in Tutors. My genes went against my ambition to join the RAF and fly heavies though, so that dream died in my teens.

I spent a lot of time on a joint-forces base as a kid with F-15s regularly visiting the resident Nimrods and Sea Kings. I also live v.close to RNAS Yeovilton now so I still get to keep the interest alight somewhat, though 95% of air traffic here are Wildcats or Merlins.


p.s. The Fleet Air Arm Museum here is well worth a visit!

ICBM

Despite being a lifelong aviation geek I don't think I'd ever be able to train as a pilot - certainly not in a light aircraft - since I suffer from severe motion sickness. Last time I very inadvisedly went on a fairground ride no more violent than the chairs on chains that whizz round and go up and down a bit - I'm guessing the forces are under 1G in any direction - I was nauseous and disorientated to the point of being unable to walk or even sit upright properly for more than half an hour, and felt ill for three days. I'm very envious of any of you who can actually fly something that you can make do stuff like that properly.

So my favourite aircraft is the Boeing 747. It's not only probably the most iconic airliner ever built, it's the nearest to flying without a feeling of movement I've experienced. (I know the 747 is capable of being flown more 'excitingly', but civil pilots don't!)

Leftian

drofluf said:

Leftian said:

20 Years flying in the RAF (mostly C130) and then an Airline Captain and instructor before getting fed up with the roster running my life and moving into business (still aviation related). I have more flying hours than guitar hours, but that’s still a work in progress!

My father spent most of his career on the C130 as Flight and running the OCU

When did he leave? We may have crossed, I arrived at Lyneham in 1992 and left 2008. 

Philly_Q

Steve Morse is a pilot.  I think he did it professionally, for a while.

Blackjack

Wow, a thread I can comment on at last!! Haha
i am much more pilot than guitarist - my playing has never managed to progress beyond the crap beginner stage sadly despite my best efforts hence me saying about a thread I can contribute to!!
I have been involved with aviation at Biggin Hill since the tender age of 3 through my family. Knew my phonetic alphabet long before I went to school as the instructors loved it that a pre school aged little girl was so into aircraft so they were happy to teach me stuff.  Have worked in aviation most of my adult life, largely involved with running a flying school and got about 150 hours of various flying in my logbook (not all ppl training, a real mixed bag of stuff) but sadly never got to finish my ppl training due to my club closing. I am now living the dream working for Fly A Spitfire at Biggin Hill, who do two seat Spit flights! Not been in the Spit but have flown in our chase plane in very close formation with the Spit - an awesome experience!! I am one VERY lucky lady!!