19 February 2015

I’ve now completed 12 flights in G-CIMA, all local to my home strip except for one away landing and take off at Sandy. Sandy will be well known to British microlighters as an exceptionally welcoming club – I’ve been a member there for the last 15 years or so, ever since I came back to flying in around 1999.

So my total time in G-CIMA is still only about three hours but I feel I’m gradually getting to know “Little Bird”. This is against the background of nearly 2,000 hours in SkyRangers G-SKRG and G-HMCB over the last eleven years or so. G-CIMA is about as different as she could be – relatively low power with 31 hp under the cowl,  a slippery little shape but with large flaperons, and generally very nimble. Unbelievably economical – less than 5 litres an hour in the cruise of around 85 mph and, of course, completely free of aviation paperwork and formal inspection rituals. However, this tends to focus the mind on being even more careful than usual in one’s own routines.

Speaking of which, my third flight was a real bottom-clencher, and it was completely my fault.  At 1200 feet about three miles from home the side mounted canopy suddenly blew completely open with a very loud bang. My cap immediately disappeared in the 90 mph slipstream and my headset came off but streamed behind the cabin somewhere. The noise was colossal and it was a real face-twisting experience. Inexplicably my spectacles remained in place. I temporarily lost some control, dropped about 200 feet in a dive and speeded up to over 100 mph. I was however able to get control back quite quickly and trim to 70 mph. I was quite surprised how well the aircraft handled under this unplanned asymmetric drag and I was able to lower full landing flap – another nasty moment because the lowered flaps make a heck of a noise which you don’t usually hear from inside a canopy and with a headset on. The landing was OK but slightly untidy and I damaged a spat by landing too close to the rough edge of the runway strip. I would however regard it as a positive outcome of a somewhat unpromising episode. Note to self: ensure that canopy is properly secured and attach a safety lanyard tied down to the lower seat belt mounting, thus allowing the canopy only to open a few inches if the catches come undone again. After checking for damage I immediately took off again for a short local flight, wanting to finish the afternoon on a more positive note. This was entirely uneventful.

The next few flights went well, but I still wasn’t getting the tail off the ground soon enough and this was a main factor in the lengthy take off roll. Eventually I realised that a really positive forward movement on the stick was required in order to unstick the tail. This is now part of my strategy. The reader should be aware that apart from a few flights over thirty years ago, these were my first flights in a taildragger. I had however studied the subject on the internet and by reading a few books and pamphlets.

A few days later I carried out a full flight test of G-CIMA for publication in the April edition of Microlight Flying magazine. I’ll post it on here when it has been published.

A few more local flights followed after this, including an outing to Sandy, which has a grass 350 meter runway, very soft after all the rain. The approach from the south means that the first 50 -70 meters of runway is unavailable because of trees at the threshold. After one missed approach I committed myself to landing, but touched down with 200 meters or so already “spent” and therefore had to use the heel brakes to conclude the landing roll without close acquaintance with the bushes and the lake at the northern end.

I've continued my SD1 education cautiously, avoinding hard runways and crosswinds. During the last few days, another half a dozen takeoffs and landings and a couple of hours or so. I've noticed, as my runway dries out, a better take off performance. I flew over to Sutton Meadows near Ely, my second airfield "away" to visit and then to Newnham, which has over 700 meters, for a couple of circuits. I need to go back to the books on landings, as I had a couple of balloons, nothing serious, as a result of coming in a bit fast and then raising the nose for landing. This encourages the aircraft to want to take off again, so a bit more work is needed in that department. I'm delighted with the performance in the cruise, speeds abouit the same as a Skyranger - happy to cruise at 85-95 mph - but only using half the fuel. Now getting on for 20 takeoffs and landings and about five hours in the pilot's seat. Will keep you posted.

10 March 2015

I did a couple of hours in G-CIMA, in fantastic weather. First, I flew over to Sandy and made a decent landing on their 350 meter Runway 35, coming in over the trees. After some further local flying I went down to White Waltham, to the West London Aero Club (www.wlac.co.uk), to meet some friends for lunch. WLAC is a large and very traditional UK flying club and the SD1 created a lot of interest as I was able to park her right next to the WLAC Clubhouse restaurant. I abandoned the first landing as too fast and high, but the next approach to R29 went well - G-CIMA is very slippery and it's essential to nail the approach from some way out, trimming down to 60 mph or so and keeping steady at that sort of pace. If you put on unwanted speed it's almost impossible to lose it. The SD-1 sideslips quite nicely and I'll be practising my approaches on the next outing. After these two hours, it was a pleasant experience refuelling the aircraft and putting 10 litres into the tank - according to the data it should have only been nine though! Now nine hours and 20+landings.

18 April 2015

During the last six weeks I have been out and about in "Little Bird" but I've been careful to choose good days with the wind in a favourable direction. My number of landings is now 40 and I think that things are slowly falling into place. Hours now around 14 but most flying has been very local as I've concentrated on take-offs and landings so far. I do think that the aircraft is capable of modest touring abroad, the speed and fuel capacity would be sufficient and I've noted consumption of less than 5 litres an hour. This gives a range in excess of 400 miles. The interior provides a comfortable position, certainly manageable for a couple of hours at a time. Baggage would have to be limited to small overnight bags but I think that one additional such bag could be stowed under the pilot's legs providing it is properly secured. Time will tell. At present I have a few problems with the radio (I cannot always hear stations calling me even though I'm perfectly audible to them). This is under review at the moment and I hope to try again tomorrow after making some adjustments to the settings. Over to Northampton Sywell today for a chat with guru Paul Dewhurst, one of the most knowledgeable and experienced pilots in the UK.

13 May 2015

Nearly a month had passed since my last flight but Lady Margaret and I had a good holiday - but nothing to do with flying, just for a change, but a railway holiday in Germany and the Czech republic.  I fixed the radio issue simply by changing the squelch and had three very good flights today, fairly early in the morning before it became very warm. Little Bird continues to fly beautifully and I feel I am getting the hang of take-offs. Three good take offs and landings today, Newnham, Sandy and back to Whitehill Farm.