Craig Richardson

Today’s podcast interviewee is Craig Richardson. Craig actually wrote in and suggested the subject for this podcast. He’s at the point in his flying career where he’s about to launch into training for the ATPL and he’s trying to decide where to do his ATPL groundschool studies and the CPL/IR flight training. He thought that the decision making process that he’s going through would make for an interesting podcast.

Craig has done a great deal of research: on-line via aviation forums, by visiting flight training exhibitions and by talking to the training suppliers themselves.

Today we discuss which training providers made it on to Craig’s short-list, get an idea for which companies he’s thinking of going with and, of course, why he chose them.

Listen to Episode 30

Craig has completed his PPL training and has done his night and complex ratings, all at Andrewsfield Aviation in Essex.

He’s now about to start doing his ATPL training and has done a great deal of research into which providers to do the various elements with. He is very active of the Flyer Forum and the PPrune Forum both of which, he says, have been very helpful in getting advice on his career path. He has also visited all of the companies on his candidate list to see, first hand, what sort of service they offer. He did recommend going along to the Flyer Flight Training Exhibition where you can meet many of the professional pilot training organisations.

Craig flying Cessna Grand Caravan

Craig thinks that, as he really needs to continue working, he’ll be going down the modular, distance learning route.
On his original short-list he’s placed the following flight training organisations:
For the ATPL theory ground schools:
Cabair
Oxford Aviation
Bristol Groundschool
CATS

For the flying training Craig listed:
Cabair
Stapleford Flight Centre

Having researched the subject in depth, Craig thinks he’ll be going with Cabair for the ATPL theory groundschool at £895, with CATS coming in a close 2nd.
He mentions their price, flexibility and quality of training material as the key criteria for choosing Cabair.
Cabair are also in his list for choices for doing his flying training but he thinks that he is leaning more towards Stapleford. Craig says that both Cabair and Stapleford come in at roughly the same price with their CPL training listed at approximately £5,000 and the IR at £11-12,000.
Overall, Craig says that he is budgeting approx £60,000 to get to his frozen ATPL.
Craig is doing his bit to promote aviation and helps organise fly-outs via the Flyer Forum.

If you have any questions about your own training, I’m sure that he’ll be gald to offer his advice. He goes under the name of Night Hawk on the Flyer Forums and VFR Transit on the Pprune Forum.

Flight Lieutenant Stu Walker

In this the third and final part of the DHFS podcasts I’m interviewing Flight Lieutenant Stu Walker. Stu invited me down to RAF Shawbury, arranged my visit and the interviews with the various personnel on the base.

Stu’s story is quite an interesting one and so I thought it would make a good stand-alone podcast in its own right. In this interview Stu tells me how he wanted to join the RAF from an early age.

Initially his aim was to become a front-line fighter pilot but you can hear how his military career progressed through flight training, flying Nimrods, doing a masters degree is Aero Systems, working in the Flight Information Publications department and then on to flying helicopters.

Stu grew up in the Lake District and often saw RAF jets flying around the fells. This is what spurred the young Stu to join the Air Force. He initially wanted to fly Tornados but as we’ll hear, this dream didn’t quite materialise.

Listen to Episode 29

He joined the Air Training Corps at 15, did his A-levels and then went on to study Physics at university where he joined the universities air squadron. Having been sponsored by the RAF at university he was contracted to join the RAF upon completion of his degree. His elementary flight training was on Bulldogs and his first posting was at RAF Cranwell. He was selected for multi-engine training rather than fast jets and so continued his training on Fireflies and Jetstreams before being posted to a Nimrod squadron at RAF Kinloss.

After his time on Nimrods, Stu moved on to study Aero Systems, an RAF masters degree course, at RAF Cranwell.

From here Stu was expecting to go back on to Nimrods but instead he was posted to RAF Northolt and the AIDU - Aeronautical Information Documents Unit. This is basically the unit that produces, amongst other things, the aeronautical maps for all of the RAF and although paper maps are still the order of the day, the military are moving towards doing things digitally. So for four and a half years Stu was involved in the procurement of digital data systems for the RAF.

Flight Lieutenant Stu Walker

After his time at Northolt Stu was ready to get back to flying and, as luck would have it, he asked to move on to rotary training at a time when the need for helicopter pilots was increasing. This resulted in him being posted to the DHFS at RAF Shawbury to be trained to fly helicopters. As at the time of our interview, Stu had just completed his rotary training and was looking forward to transferring to RAF Benson to be trained up on Pumas with a longer term view to be involved in the ‘hot and high’ Puma redeployment ops in Kenya.

In the even longer term, given that fast jets and flight testing have probably passed him by, Stu says that the ideal job for him would be back at DHFS as a helicopter flight instructor.

Best of luck to Stu and all of his colleagues that I met at RAF Shawbury.

Thomas Cook Airlines Boeing 757-200

It’s Episode 28 of Flying Podcast and today I’m talking to Paul Hutchings, Chief Pilot for Thomas Cook Airlines.

I’ve had a lot of questions from listeners about becoming a commercial pilot so who better to talk to than the chief pilot of one of the country’s largest charter airline fleets.

I was interested to hear what qualities they look for in potential new recruits and I was particularly interested in their Cadet Training Scheme for ab-initio pilots.

Listen to Episode 28

Paul first described how Thomas Cook look for a certain amount of diversity in their pilots. They are keen to maintain a diverse demographic in both their student and direct entry pilots.
With regards to their direct entry pilots, they do recruit many pilots during the summer season, especially those type rated on the planes that Thomas Cook fly.
In answer to my questions about whether they prefer pilots that have gone down the modular or integrated route, pilots from certain training schools or whether the pilots are ex-military he said that it didn’t matter. They are much more interested in the quality of the pilot that presents him or herself for the flying job.

Paul Hutchings

As at summer 2010, Thomas Cook have just recruited pilots for their Cadet Training Scheme. Thomas Cook’s Cadet Training Scheme is a sort of mentoring programme for ab-initio pilots. They do contribute something to the cost of training but the majority of the cost is still born by the student. Thomas Cook do mentor the students and offer them a guaranteed position as a pilot at the end of their training (as anything can be described as guaranteed in today’s airline environment).
In their student intake, Thomas Cook are not looking for any previous flying experience. There are no specific academic qualifications required but Paul says that maths, science subjects and the likes of geography are useful at A-level but not essential. A certain academic ability is useful though in that there is a huge amount of material to remember for the exams.
Paul sees motivation and commitment to be extremely important in their students as the route to becoming a pilot is long and arduous.
Their selection process for the cadet scheme involves numerical and verbal reasoning tests, aptitude tests, psychometric tests as well as observing how the candidates work in group/team environments over 4 stages.
The successful candidates begin their training in November 2010 in Jerez in Spain with Flight Training Europe. The course is residential and takes approx 15 months. The students then emerge with their frozen ATPL. During their stay, Thomas Cook mentor the students and give them some financial support.
At the end of this training, the student pilots are then given some extra training including Jet Upset Training Course and a Jet Orientation Course.
Upon the successful completion of the course the students will be offered a 2 year fixed term contract to fly with FlyBE, Thomas Cook’s partners in this scheme. At FlyBE they will be operating as First Officer on the Dash 8Q 400 aircraft. After this 2 years’ of secondment at FlyBE, the pilots should be offered a place flying Airbuses or Boeings with Thomas Cook.

Airbus A330 taking off

When I asked Paul about the guarantee of a job with Thomas Cook he said that they wouldn’t be making this financial commitment if they weren’t reasonably sure about being able to use the pilots once they had been trained.
In terms actual figures, Paul quoted approximately £70,000 for the course in Jerez of which the student really has to find around £60,000. Flight Training Europe has a good relationship with a Spanish bank to get the required loans sorted. Thomas Cook will then pay the pilots salary when they are at FlyBE.

Thomas Cook Airbus A320-200

Paul is confident that the Thomas Cook Cadet Training Scheme is the best one available on the market and is happy that they will attract the very best calibre of candidate. He anticipates doing one course per year but this is subject to change as market forces dictate.

I asked Paul about the route to the left seat and command of a big jet. He stressed that the route is quite a long one, up to 8 or even 10 years.
When you join with less than 500 hours you will be a Second Officer, being promoted to First Officer at that 500 hours. With an unfrozen ATPL at 1500 hours you will be promoted to a Senior First Officer. The hours required for a command are set at a minimum of 4500 hours but this more down to seniority rather than on hours alone. Paul says that they set the bar very high for their commanders.

Obviously, as a charter airline, Thomas Cook is very busy in the summer and much quieter in the winter. They carry a surplus number of pilots in the winter and recruit temporary pilots for the summer months. In the current environment, with the recent demise of several airlines, Paul says that there are sufficient qualified pilots out there for them to recruit. As the airline market improves Thomas Cook will probably have to recruit more full time pilots and then the challenge will be to try and find more places to fly during the winter months.

Thomas Cook fly long haul and short haul. Pilots tend to start on the narrow body aircraft, flying short and medium haul routes. They have bases in Newcastle, Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham, Belfast, East Midlands, Stansted, Bristol, Cardiff and London Gatwick with a summer only base in Leeds. Pilots will be given a type and a base and they will be expected to live close to the base airport.

Paul thinks that the airline market is improving with middle eastern airlines now buying large numbers of new aircraft so he thinks that the future of commercial aviation is becoming more attractive.

Lastly Paul gave me a quick run down of his career in flying. He has been with Thomas Cook, as Chief Pilot, for the last 2 years and still flies a Boeing 757.

Squirrel perched on a ledge, Snowdonia

In the second part of the DHFS podcasts I interview Squadron Leader Jason Bowes and Master Aircrew Graeme Longmuir. They’re both from 60 Squadron, responsible for training pilots and crewmen on multi engine helicopters at RAF Shawbury. I also talk to a couple of RAF students; Flight Lieutenants Keith Lam and Becky Corrigan and also to Corporal Neil Moncur, head of Flight Planning and lastly to Paul Gresty of the Met Office.

Listen to Episode 27

The first guys up in the podcast are Jase and Graeme to give us an overview of how they train pilots and crewmen on the twin engined Griffin helicopter.

Squadron Leader Jason Bowes - 60 Squadron

After explaining which personnel remain at Shawbury having completed their single engine training, Jase and Graeme explain what the Multi Engine Advanced Rotary Wing course involves.
The course lasts a total of 40 weeks, beginning with 2 weeks groundschool followed by 8 weeks of conversion to type on the Griffin. The student pilots then move on to more advanced flying including procedural instrument flying, low level navigation, confined area flying, handling underslung loads, night flying including use of night vision goggles and search and rescue training before moving on to mission management training.

At this stage of the pilot training they are joined by the crewmen to begin working as a team that will see them prepared for deployment. Graeme explains how the crewmen are trained prior to arrival at Shawbury and then what roll the crew are expected to fulfil onboard the aircraft. Not only are the crewmen responsible for load handling but they also act as an extra pair of eyes, especially important when operating larger aircraft at low level especially the likes of Chinooks and Merlins for example. Crewmen could go on to be trained as air gunners when they move on from DHFS.

DHFS have a Search and Rescue Training Unit (SARTU) based at RAF Valley. Jase and Graeme give us a brief overview of how this training fits in with the overall mission readiness training requirement.

Master Aircrew Graeme Longmuir - 60 Squadron

Following on from their time at Shawbury the students will move on to their respective bases where they will be trained, on-type, typically on Merlins, Chinooks or Pumas to become ‘limited combat ready’. Jase explains that Army students will have left Shawbury after completing the single engine training.

They will have been posted to Middle Wallop to continue training on the Squirrel before moving on to Apaches and Linx prior to deployment. He goes on to say that Navy pilots will have moved on to fly, typically, Sea Kings or Lynx after completed the single engine course at DHFS.
Lastly I asked Graeme and Jason why they joined up in the first place and whether they would recommend the forces to young people today.

I next spoke to Corporal Neil Moncur who heads up the Flight Planning facility at RAF Shawbury.
Neil explains exactly what flight planning is and what his role includes.
Part of Ops Wing, Flight Planning acts as an extension to the DHFS classroom and helps the students plan their flights.
DHFS have a large area surrounding the base where they do most of their training and Neil provides the maps of the area to which he adds data relevant to the days’ flights such as noise sensitive areas to avoid, royal flights, obstacles, etc.
The facility is used for planning navigation routes, checking latest warnings and notices to airmen (NOTAM), obtaining meteorological information via the meteorological office military information dissemination system (MOMIDS) and the inputting of Flight Plans on the automated low flying electronic notification system (Mil-EAMS) before flying a sortie.
Neil has been posted to Afghanistan recently and he tells us just how challenging this posting was. Although he is involved in flight planning at the moment he could be called upon to serve as an air traffic controller at Camp Bastion, for example, back in Afghanistan.

Griffin-in-the-moon

Sat alongside Neil during our chat was Paul Gresty. Paul works for the Met Office but is based at RAF Shawbury. Obviously when planning a flight one of the first things you need to know about is the weather, so Paul and his team of 6 forecasters play and extremely important role on the base. I was interested to know what the met guys did, day to day, and was surprised to find that they even get posted abroad to support front line troops.
The Met function at Shawbury is not only to supply weather information to the pilots but they also actually teach the met subject to students. They work shifts as the flight training at Shawbury takes place during the day and also well into the night. The particular difference for the Met Officers here is that the training takes place at low level.
An interesting piece of information that they supply to military pilots is a cross sectional form showing cloud levels. Something that civilian pilots don’t get to see but which would be very useful I think.
The military use a unique colour coding system to indicate weather conditions for aviators. Blue indicates very good weather. Red indicates very bad weather. The whole sequence is Blue, White, Green, Yellow 1, Yellow 2, Amber and Red.
Paul told me that only RAF bases now have Met Office staff actually based on-site.
At the end of the interview with Paul I asked Neil Moncur how they use the weather data supplied by the Met Office.

Lastly I thought it would be interesting to hear from a couple of the students here at DHFS. Flight Lieutenants Keith Lam and Becky Corrigan talked briefly about why they joined up, what drew them to flying helicopters and how they ended up in 60 Squadron at the Defence Helicopter Flying School.

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DHFS Griffin Helicopter over Snowdon

The Defence Helicopter Flying School is where helicopter pilots and crewmen for all of the UK’s armed forces are trained. In this the first of 3 episodes on the Defence Helicopter Flying School I’m talking to the Commandant, Group Captain Jock Brown, who gives me an overview of the unit which is based at RAF Shawbury. Also in this episode I interview the squadron leaders of the 2 squadrons that teach single engine helicopter flying, both basic and advanced, here at the DHFS.

Listen to Episode 26

Group Captain Jock Brown.

At the start of the interview, Group Captain Jock Brown, DHFS Commandant, gave me a brief history of DHFS and then he went on to describe the role of the Defence Helicopter Flying School. The school is responsible for the ab-initio training of helicopter pilots and crewmen for the armed forces in the UK. The DHFS also runs transitional courses for potential harrier pilots who come to Shawbury to familiarise themselves with the concept of hovering in a helicopter before progressing to the VTOL aircraft.

Although the squadrons are badged as ’single service’, they all work together to offer joint training for navy, army and air force personnel.

The DHFS don’t just train UK pilots, they also train military helicopter pilots from around the world. Jock is proud to state that the school is one of, if not THE, best in the world. They also train helicopter flying instructors at the base too.

About 160 students and 40 aircrew pass through the establishment every year. This relatively high number is due to natural wastage as pilots and aircrew move on to other duties or leave the forces.
Jock says that all of the personnel leaving the courses here are destined to fly in front-line operations with very few exceptions.

DHFS is run by the MOD and Jock actually commands the unit but there is a significant civilian input. FB Heliservices owns the aircraft and supplies 40% of the instructors, all of which are ex-military.

Jock mentioned the crucial role that he and his staff have in community relations. They are very conscious of the noise nuisance that is possible and do their best to minimise the impact that the training has on the local residents. The DHFS do help out in the local community with school visits, fetes and community relations projects.

As much of the training is at low-level the unit does need to have a good relationship with local farmers. In fact the DHFS do have agreements with many farmers to allow the trainee pilots to do various exercises over their land.

Jock thinks that the future of DHFS is quite strong given the ongoing requirement for helicopters but he is conscious of the strategic review due to be published later in the year.

The Defence Helicopter Flying School uses mainly Squirrel single engine helicopters and the Griffin twin engine helicopter.

DHFS Squirrel Helicopter

In the second half of this episode I talk to the squadron leaders of the 2 squadrons that teach single engine military helicopter flying, both basic and advanced, here at the Defence Helicopter Flying School. That’s Major Sasha Zvegintzov, also known as Zog and Lieutentant Commander Mark Scott aka Scotty.
They give me an overview of the training syllabus for helicopter pilots from all of the armed forces.

Major Zvegintzov of 660 Squadron

Lieutenant Commander Scott of 705 Squadron.

After a brief summary of the background of the 2 squadrons, Zog and Scotty told me what the students would have been doing prior to their arrival at DHFS.
DHFS is designed for ab-initio training on helicopters and all students will have had basic fixed wing flight training prior to arrival. This training will have been at various places dependant on which branch of the armed forces they have come from.

Single Engine Basic Rotary Wing (SEBRW)
When a student arrives at Shawbury, they will join either 660 or 705 squadron, in rotation, for all of his/her single engine heli training.

Basically the training syllabus involves groundschool, flying, simulator training and navigation. Scotty says that the course is very similar in essence to the PPL(H). All of the training is on the Squirrel helicopter.

Other elements on the syllabus which aren’t purely flying related include: leadership and crew resource management and the students usually get involved in community projects.

Single Engine Advanced Rotary Wing (SEARW)

Building on the basic course, the advanced course takes the students through instrument training and low-level navigation. Everything that the students get taught is relevant to the operations that they might be involved in when they find themselves on the front line.

Following on from the navigation phase, the students do more handling exercises and night flying before being prepared for the final handling test.

At the end of the interview both Zog and Scotty gave me a brief overview of why they joined the forces, how they’d found their life in the army and navy respectively and finally they told me whether, if they had their time over again, they would have joined the armed forces.

Thanks to all of the people at DHFS who made me feel very welcome during my stay at Shawbury. Whether or not you agree with the politics of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, for example, the guys here are doing a brilliant job and, to me at least, seemed to be going about their business in an extremely professional manner.

Sheila Dyson, who featured in an earlier podcast episode, having flown to Australia in her single engined Cessna now intends to fly around the world next year. She mentioned to me that she’s looking for a co-pilot to share the flying and some of the expenses. Leaving from Netherthorpe in Yorkshire, UK and going east, the flight is expected to take approximately three months. The co-pilot should have an FAA IR. Enquiries, including outline personal details, should be emailed to Sheila. Her email address is: scdyson606@btinternet.com

Glider at London Gliding Club

Today I’m visiting London Gliding Club near Dunstable talking to Adrian Hobbs, a Basic Instructor at LGC all about gliding.
Before the interview, Adrian took me on a quick tour of the airfield which lies alongside a beautiful chalk ridge in the Chilterns. The field itself is an undulating grassy expanse with no marked runways so that the gliders can be launched or can land directly into wind. The club have several aircraft for aero-tows and mobile cable winches. They even have a mobile control tower and it’s all run by a dedicated but friendly bunch of gliding enthusiasts.

Listen to Episode 25

After our tour Adrian took me up in a K21 glider. He opted for an aero-tow from the club’s Piper Cub aircraft. Adrian asked the tow aircraft’s pilot to take us to an area of known thermal activity nearby the airfield for a release at or just above 2000′. Here’s a short video of my glider flight:-

After the flight I sat down with Adrian to discuss the sport of gliding.
My first question was what a potential pilot needed to know before thinking about learning to fly gliders.
You should firstly find your nearest club on the British Gliding Association web site.

A typical aero-tow at London Gliding Club

You can start flying before you are 16 but you can’t get a gliding solo certificate below the age of 16. So it’s probably not a good idea to start training much younger than 15. There is no older age restriction but there are insurance restrictions above the age of 80.  Apparently you don’t need a medical to train but you will need a doctor’s certificate before you go solo. Once older than 65, you will need a doctor to sign once a year that you are fit to fly.
There are height restrictions. If you are below 5′ you may have trouble reaching the foot pedals and conversely of you are taller than 6′3″ (193cms) you may not fit in beneath the glider’s canopy but check with your chosen gliding club for more info on this. As with all things aviation there is a weight consideration and the upper limit at LGC is 100kg or 16 stone.

Trial lessons are available at London Gliding Club but Adrian recommends coming down for a day’s course to really find out if gliding is for you. During a one day course at LGC you might get 3 flights lasting 15-20 minutes each dependant on the weather.

For details of what’s on offer at London Gliding Club visit:

www.londonglidingclub.co.uk

London Gliding Club also offer gliding holiday courses and Adrian says that after a week’s course you could be well on your way to going solo.

Inside the cockpit of an LGC glider

In the early days the syllabus for learning to fly gliders involves lots of take-offs and landings learning to handle the cable launch and mastering the glide approach and landing. For a full syllabus have a look at the BGA web site for details:

www.gliding.co.uk

There isn’t a license as such but the bronze certificate is an equivalent. This involves passing a theoretical, multiple choice, exam covering subjects such as air law, aircraft general knowledge, aircraft performance & planning, human performance, meteorology, navigation, operational procedures, principles of flight and use of the radio.
In terms of flying, a certain level of experience is required before attaining your bronze. This includes a minimum number of launches, minimum solo soaring experience, the completion of the flight training syllabus followed by the general and navigation flying skills tests.

For details of the ‘badge system’ including what further training is available such as the Silver, Gold and Diamond badges, visit the British Gliding Association web site.

Club gliders at London Gliding Club

At time of going to press some of the key costs involved at London Gliding Club are:
Annual membership - £585
Fixed price to solo - £1425
Launch charge - winch - £8.15
Launch charge - aero-tow to 2000′ - £29.85
Single seater and twin flown solo hire - 46p per minute - £27.60 per hour
Two seater hire - 62p per minute - £37.20 per hour
One day course - £225

Again, for more detail and other costs visit London Gliding Club’s web site:

www.londonglidingclub.co.uk

View down the glider wing

Adrian and I went on to discuss what’s involved in cross country flying, the types of aircraft available at London Gliding Club and what exactly attracts people to the sport. As to why gliding is such fun, speaking personally, I imagine it’s the same sort of feeling you get when you are sailing; the feeling that you are harnessing the power of nature to go from A to B for free, without using any sort of energy. It really is a great sensation, and a challenge, to be working in harmony with the wind and thermals and you get some superb views thrown in.

Me after flight in LGC's glider

I really do hope to get back to LGC this summer with a view to doing some more flying with them. They are a really friendly bunch and special thanks go to Adrian Hobbs for making it one of the best afternoon’s fun and flying possible.
I hope that some of you give it a go. Drop me a line if you do and let me know what you think.

Hot-Air Balloon

In this episode of Flying Podcast, I’m talking with Ted Moore of European Balloons. European Balloons operate commercial hot-air balloon flights in the Home Counties from their base in Great Missenden. The purpose of this interview was to find out more about hot-air ballooning. How do you get into it? What qualifications do you need? What sorts of balloons are there? How do you learn to fly a balloon, etc etc. If you like to know more about the world of hot air ballooning, have a listen to Ted’s podcast.

Listen to Episode 24

My first question to Ted was ‘why fly a hot air balloon’. His response was that it was the best form of flight, the pilot being in complete touch with nature.
He gave me a brief summary of what is required in order for a pilot to gain his PPL (Balloon). Here’s a list of requirements taken from the British Balloon and Airship Club’s web site:

- Have at least 16 hours flying experience within the preceeding 2 years.
- Have made a minimum of 6 flights
- Have made a minimum of 4 flights with a BBAC approved Instructor; the rest may be with any valid PPL(B) holder
- Keep a flight log.
- Keep a BBAC training log.
- Be recommended by a BBAC approved Instructor for a flight test.
- Undertake a flight test with a CAA approved examiner.
- Perform a solo flight under the supervision of the Examiner or an instructor delegated by the Examiner.
- Take written examination in Aviation Law, Navigation, Meteorology, Balloon Systems and Human Performance.
- Be signed off as medically fit to fly by your GP. (Same as NPPL)
- Attend an approved Landowner Relations Seminar.

For more, and completely up-to-date, information, visit the BBAC’s web site.

Ted explains that the landowner relations course is particularly important and he describes the sorts of problems a balloonist is likely to encounter with various animal types and what to do if you damage a farmer’s crops.

I asked Ted whether it’s possible to learn to fly a balloon abroad. He says that there are schools in Spain, Germany and Italy. At the moment you must be taught by a UK instructor but this rule is likely to change.

A typical hot-air balloon inflation

Next, I asked Ted what to do once you’ve got your PPL how do you get into the air.
Are there syndicates where you can buy a share in a balloon?
How much is a balloon or a share likely to cost?
What types of balloon are available?
Ted’s answer to minimise the cost of balloon flying is to join a local ballooning club and to use the club’s balloon, paying approximately £60 an hour.

A typical hot-air balloon ready for flight

Ted covers the sort of equipment apart from the balloon that you likely to require.
A GPS, although not essential is very useful especially for gauging wind speed and direction.
By law the balloonist has to carry CAA maps but primarily they use OS maps with airspace and various other areas marked on.
4 wheel drive vehicle and trailer is essential for retrieval.

A hot-air balloon rises into the air

There are several different sizes of balloon available from the one-man balloon up to the 400’s and 450’s (450,000 sq ft) that can carry up to 20 people. Ted reckons that 8 people on board is the ideal size of group.

Ted describes a couple of the further training schemes under the auspices of the BBAC
These include the landowner relations course and RT (Radiotelephony) Courses but there are many more. See the BBAC web site for details.

There is a CPL qualification for balloons.
Ted gives us a brief overview of the various requirements of the CPL licenses. Again, for full details, visit the BBAC web site:

I asked Ted to describe a typical flight.
He started with the weather constraints that affect ballooning. He then describes the inflation and launching routine, how wind speed influences balloon flights, heights flown and lastly the issues that affect landing.

Ted mentions what European Balloons have to offer and where they fly. He also gives us an idea of what sort of flying he does for fun such as winter flying in Switzerland.

For more details on the company, visit:

www.europeanballoon.co.uk

G-RVRB courtesy Paul Tomlin

This episode of Flying Podcast features an interview with Claire Hatton, a Commercial and Instrument Rating Instructor with Ravenair, based mainly at Liverpool, John Lennon Airport. We discuss what’s involved in more advanced ratings and licenses such as the IMC, Multi engine, IR and CPL. So if you have any interest in improving your flying or want to get into commercial aviation, have a listen to what Claire has to say.

Listen to Episode 23

Claire starts off the interview with a little detail about how she got into flying and flying instruction.
She started her career working weekends at Manchester Flying School at Manchester Airport, getting her PPL at 17. She then worked as an air stewardess with Monarch to pay for he CPL training. She then ended up working for Ravenair at Liverpool, John Lennon Airport. She finds that being a flying instructor fits in well with her need to look after her young child.

Ravenair's Business Aviation Centre

Ravenair are based mainly at Liverpool but also operate from Barton, Manchester and the Isle of Man.  Their fleet consists of Piper PA38 Tomahawks, Cherokees, Piper PA34 Senecas, Piper PA27 Aztecs and Partenavia PN68s.

The advantages of using Liverpool airport include the facts that the airport is still very general aviation friendly, they have plenty of commercial traffic and obviously a full ATC and ILS systems but the airport is not so busy that it causes many delays to your training.

Claire runs us through a typical list of ratings that you might undertake on your way to a full commercial license - the frozen ATPL - although many of the ratings can of course be used as a way of improving your general flying skills.

Although Ravenair do offer the night rating qualification, Claire herself doesn’t instruct for this rating and so we moved straight on to the IMC.

The IMC (Instrument Meteorological Conditions) rating, which is a UK only rating, is essentially a ‘get out of gaol’ card allowing the pilot to take off or land in weather conditions that would not be suitable for the VFR pilot. Claire explains that it is a great way of improving the safety of your flying as well improving your flying skills. Although not necessary in your progression to the ATPL it does give you a great introduction to instrument flying and covers general manoeuvring with sole reference to the instruments and then navigation and landings using radio navigation aids.

MEPL - The multi-engine piston license. Also known as the twin rating. Claire describes what is required before you start the rating and then what the course consists of. The main differences that the students find, according to Claire, are the power differences and complexities of the twin engined aircraft and then the problems caused by the loss of one engine, so called asymmetric flight.

Commercial Pilot’s License
A pilot needs a CPL before he or she can fly and be paid for it.
With one or two exceptions you must have a CPL in order to get a paid job as a crop duster, parachute aircraft pilot, flying instructor etc.
Claire gives us an insight into how the CPL flight training compares with the PPL. Although the actual content of the course is similar to the PPL, the flying for the CPL license must be more accurate and should be carried out in a more commercial fashion.
The course content consists of the ground exams, which must be completed prior to the flying element of the course, and then the actual flying training. This can be on a single engined or multi engined aircraft.
Claire explains how the student can possibly save a little by including the twin rating within the CPL course.

Instrument Rating
Obviously required to be able to fly under IFR in the airways and so essential for becoming a pilot with the airlines.
As Claire explains, it’s often regarded as the most demanding flight test you’ll ever take. The difficulty arises from the amount of work that’s involved in conducting a flight on instruments. The key thing, Claire says, is to stay a couple of steps ahead of the aircraft as the stress levels involved in instrument flying can be quite high; there are so many things to think about.

After gaining the instrument rating, the prospective pilot has all of the flying qualifications he or she will require in order to get a job flying commercially. Although Ravenair don’t offer the MCCC (Multi Crew Co-operation Course) certificate it is a requirement for aircraft that have more than one crew member and so is essential for most airline work.

Lastly, Ravenair offer Flying Instructor courses but we’ll leave that for another podcast.

For full details of Flight Crew Licensing, visit the Lasors page on the CAA web site.

Claire has written a book called ‘You Have Control’ which is all about what it’s like to be a flying instructor.

Arthur Williams with the BDFA

Following on from my chat with Mike Miller-Smith of the BDFA, today I’m talking to one of the pilots that has trained with them.

Arthur Williams broke his back in a car accident in 2007 leaving him paralised from the waist down. At the time he was serving with the Royal Marines and as you could imagine, he lead a very active life.

Listen to Episode 22

He left the army in 2009 and decided that disability wouldn’t stop him becoming a pilot and, with the aid of the British Disabled Flying Association, that’s just what he’s been able to do. Following his trial flight he went solo after only 9 hours and since then he’s gone on to gain his National Private Pilot’s Licence.

Arthur recommends that any disabled person out there takes a trial flight with the BDFA. He says that he gained a great sense of achievement from his first flight and that the experience helps the disabled person feel much more confident about taking on other challenges in life.

Arthur Williams with the BDFA

Arthur still flies the BDFA PA-28 based at Lasham and is hoping to build up his hours, possibly going on to take his commercial licence and maybe even become a flying instructor with the BDFA.

He is full of praise for the BDFA, and tells us how learning to fly with them is great value, with hourly costs starting at £50 an hour to rent the aircraft plus another £20 an hour for an instructor.

Last year Arthur went along on a BDFA fly-out to Switzerland spending a week in Gruyere and he describes it as a superb gathering of disabled pilots from all over Europe.

Arthur’s story is an excellent example of what you can achieve if you put your mind to it, especially with the help of some dedicated people like those guys at the BDFA.
You can find the BDFA at:

www.bdfa.net

Have a look on their web site and see how you can support their excellent work.

BDFA Promotional video on YouTube - Click here

Avro Avian IIIA - G-EBZM

On episode 21 of Flying Podcast today, I’m talking to Nick Forder, Transport Curator at Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry.

Nick has a superb insight into the history of AVRO aviation and how that was inextricably linked with the history of aviation in the Manchester area.

The interview with Nick takes place in the Air & Space Hall, hence the sound of happy children in the background. As we wandered around the collection Nick describes the AVRO aeroplanes and the part they played in powered flight over the last century.

After our museum tour, Nick introduced me to Peter Teagle, who now works as a volunteer at the museum. Peter is the ex-Assistant Chief Designer at AVRO, Woodford. Peter worked on many aircraft at AVRO, and later BAE, including, as you’ll hear, the BAE Advanced Turbo Prop aircraft. Peter is now helping build a couple of replica A V Roe aircraft on-site at the museum and we had a brief chat towards the end of the podcast about exactly what he and the team are up to.

Listen to Episode 21

Originally built in the late 1800’s the Air & Space Museum opened in this Victorian market hall in 1983 alongside the Museum of Science & Industry.

Museum of Science & Industry, Manchester

The Museum has been commemorating the centenary of the Avro Aircraft Company set up by Alliot  and Humphrey Verdon Roe in 1909.
In April 2010 they are also commemorating the first London to Manchester flight sponsored by the Daily Mail. A Frenchman, Louis Paulhan, won the competition, landing in a field near Burnage railway station, beating Englishman Claude Graham-White.

- Avro Triplane
The first aircraft we looked at was the replica 1909 Roe Triplane, also known as the Avro Triplane.
The first all-British aircraft to fly - flying 900 feet at an average 20 feet off the ground on July 23 1909 - was built by a group of volunteer aeronautical engineers based at the museum.
Unlike the Wright Brothers who studied all aspects of aeronautics and aerodynamics before building their first plane, the Europeans, Avro included, built the aircraft first and then worked out how to fly it.
The original Roe Triplane had a 9HP JAP motorcycle engine with foldable wings to aid transportation.

Roe Triplane

Many elements of the plane’s construction came from Roe’s knowledge of bicycle manufacture including the undercarriage and bracing wires.
The museum is also building another replica triplane with a view to actually flying it.
They did try and fly it in 2009 but following the failure of that attempt are re-working the aircraft with up-rated engine and power-train with a view to having another attempt at flight in 2010.

Roe Triplane

- Avro 504K
The Avro 504 was a World War I biplane aircraft. The most-produced aircraft of any kind that served in World War I. Probably more than 10,000 were built including a version built under license in Russia.
It had a top speed of 80mph and was used as a reconnaissance aircraft and subsequently a bomber, fighter and trainer aircraft.
The aircraft was ordered by the RAF after WW1 with a much more powerful air cooled Gnome rotary engine. Nick explained the problem resulting from the use of a total loss lubrication system and from using castor oil which was an efficient laxative.

Avro 504

The loss of market for aircraft, and the amount of surplus ex-RAF aircraft available lead to Avro branching out into many other sorts of manufacture including billiard tables, rocking horse and dolls houses. Shaky finances resulted in Avro being taken over by Crossley Motors in 1921 and the company used Avro to build car bodies.

Avro 504

With the revitalisation of the aviation market - by 1928 the RAF were ordering new trainers and training schools were springing up - Avro began production of the Avro Avian.

- Avro 594 Avian
Designed by Roy Chadwick the Avian was a direct competitor of the De Havilland Tiger Moth.
This particular aircraft was owned by Lady Mary Heath one of the most prominent early women aviators. She flew this Avian at the French Light Aircraft Trials at Orly in
September 1928 and took fourth place.

Avro Avian 594 IIIA - G-EBZM

The Avian IIIA registered as ‘G-EBZM’ was built in 1928. It was delivered to Merseyside
Aero and Sports Limited in February 1929 and based at the Hooton Park Airfield, near
Ellesmere Port.
In 1928 Crossley Motors themselves were getting into financial difficulties and they sold their Avro shares to Armstrong Siddeley. A. V Roe, incidentally, had left Avro in the late 1920’s and subsequently went on to work with Saunders on the Isle of White to found Saunders Roe Aircraft.
Avro themselves went on the build the likes of the Avro Anson and Avro Manchester prior to WWII.

Avro Avian 594 IIIA - G-EBZM

- Avro 707
In addition to the nose section of an Avro Vulcan, the Museum of Science and Industry have an Avro 707. The Avro 707 was a British experimental aircraft built to test the aerodynamics of the proposed delta wing configuration chosen for the Avro jet bomber, later named the Vulcan. It was a ⅓-scale version of the Vulcan and was so successful, and easy to fly, that the side-by-side trainer version was never put into production.

Avro 707 - Vulcan scale prototype

Avro 707 - Vulcan scale prototype

- Avro Shackleton 696
The Shackleton was a British long-range maritime patrol aircraft, built for use by the Royal Air Force. It could fly for up to 24 hours without refuelling.
The aircraft was designed by Roy Chadwick as the Avro Type 696 and was built at Woodford, near Stockport.
WR960 is named ‘Dougall’ after the Magic Roundabout children’s programme. The first tail wheel Shackleton’s bouncy landing characteristics lead to the first aircraft being named ‘Zebedee’, hence the Magic Roundabout theme.

Avro Shackleton

It was developed by Avro from the Avro Lincoln bomber, itself a derivative of the successful wartime Lancaster heavy bomber, utilising a new fuselage.
The engines were Rolls-Royce Griffons with contra-rotating propellors which produced a distinctive noise, contributing to the high-tone deafness of the pilots.

Avro Shackleton

- Avro Type F
I’m talking here to Peter Teagle, the ex-Assistant Chief Designer at AVRO, Woodford.
An early single seat British aircraft from Avro and the first aircraft in the world to feature a completely enclosed cabin.

Peter Teagle and Nick Forder with Avro Type F replica

This replica is of a 1912 Avro Type F. The engine was a 35HP Viale and was fairly underpowered for the task.
As Peter Teagle, a volunteer at the Museum of Science and Industry, describes, the pilot had to drop into the cockpit via a trap-door on the top of the aircraft. The frame for the aircraft is built of ash and they will hopefully power the aircraft with the original engine that they hope to get from the Science Museum in London. This old engine has been in 4 aircraft prior to the F Type replica.

Avro Type F Drawings

Avro Type F Monoplane picture

At time of recording this episode of Flying Podcast the wings were complete, although not yet covered with a modern heat-shrink fabric. The fuselage still needs to be finished.

At the end of the podcast, Peter tells us an interesting story of how he came to be responsible for the research into the design of the ATP tail fin.

If you’d like more information about the Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester, their web address is:

www.mosi.org.uk

The air & space collection is well worth a visit but there’s a whole lot more to look at if you are interested in our industrial heritage.

Listen to Episode 21