Christmas holiday begins!

Now it's time to take a little break from studying and travel to Joensuu for some Christmas and New Year holidays. Merry Christmas to all fellow pilots and readers and see you next year! :)

ATPL studies continue..

A little update on the current situation:

We've now studied ATPL theories for a couple of weeks and a few subjects are only few hours short of completion already. Now it's only one week left until our Christmas break, whichafter studying will continue on the 8th of January. I thought it would take a long time for me to get accustomed on theoretical studying again but actually it was quite easy, even after the long period of just flying. So far studying has been quite fun and I enjoy my time in the class. I'm relieved that I didn't get the same "will this never end" - kind of desperation I experienced at the start of CPL theories!

The everyday view from the classroom. But wait, who's there at the apron? :)

What's also happened in the past few days is that we went to an employment-related seminar organized by FPA (Finnish Pilot's Association). It was specifically aimed at pilots who are currently unemployed or in training. There were representees of four Finnish airlines and each told basic information on the airline and its employment prospectives in the near future. In my opinion, the seminar was a nice opportunity to scan the participants a bit and meet people, but its content was quite useless. There really was not much new information and somehow I feel that some airline representees had lost the point completely. Their presentation was merely and advertisement for the airline. Who needs to know how nice and comfortable material are some planes seats made of in the current employment and market situation?


Here's a short overview of the presentations from the unemployed pilots perspective:

- One of the companies will recruit in the year 2016 at the earliest, but maybe not even then, and applying will be possible for anyone who is trained as a pilot provided that he/she has passed the psychological tests approved by the company. Currently this means that only students of a certain flight school can apply. Even if their evaluation was ten years old. Nice!

- Another company needs a few new pilots every now and then, and everyone is free to apply, but their demand for pilots will not be growing anytime soon and there will not be an open recruitment anytime soon.

- The third company's need for new pilots will be based solely on the current regional jet pilots returning back to the company from which they were borrowed a few years ago. All pilots can apply, and about 30-40% will be suitable, but there isn't going to be too much of vacancies in the near future.

- The fourth one doesn't recruit openly, but pilots can apply via email and rumour has it that one pilot has once gotten a job!

So, things aren't looking that good at the moment, but really I didn't learn many new things from the seminar and such there's no need to get all depressed over this. Everything just is like I knew it is. Hopefully it will get better one day.

My first post-CPL flight!

I've now completed my first flight as a licenced commercial pilot! I took the C152 and flew about an hour first in the traffic circuit and then at the training area.

AWB and a crisp winter afternoon

 I thought at first that it would be strange flying the Cessna 152 after a relatively long pause but I was surprised how well everything went. Maybe it's like riding a bicycle..

Almost all boats have been pulled up from the water. "Winter is coming!"

I originally thought that as soon as I get my license, I'll start asking for friends and relatives to come on board but since I got my license so late in the autumn, the weather's getting worse, days are getting shorter and most of my time is dedicated to theoretical studies, I guess I'll postpone those flights to next year. However, I'm happy that I got airborne at least once more this year :)

Heading back to Nokka.

I now have two flight time -related things to accomplish myself during other training. Firstly, I need to have 50 hours of Pilot in Command cross-country time before the IR checkride. The CPL flight training syllabus doesn't give that much hours for some reason. So I have about 3,5 hours left. Secondly, I have to have 200 hours of total time before I can start flying the King Air C90. If I consider the minimum of 15 hours I get from the IR course, I still have about 4 hours of flying left. These hours are supposed to be flown with own discretion and with the school's airplanes, and are included in the course and its price.

ATPL Theory Course begins!

450 hours left.

It is now time for us to sit through the ATPL theories, which started today and will last until April. So the whole winter will now pass in the classroom studying some in-depth aviation theory. Our theory course covers both the ATPL and IR theory requirements, and the total amount of classroom hours will be 450. There are 14 different subjects in this theory course, which are essentially the same that we studied during the CPL course. They are:

010 AL = Air Law

020 AGK = Aircraft General Knowledge

• 021 AGK Systems (Airframes, engines & electronics)
• 022 AGK Instruments (Flight instruments and -computers)

030 FPP = Flight Planning & Performance

• 031 Mass & Balance
• 032 Performance
• 033 Flight Planning & Monitoring

040 HPL = Human Performance & Limitations

050 MET = Meteorology

060 NAV = Navigation

• 061 General Navigation
• 062 Radio Navigation

070 OPS = Operational Procedures

080 POF = Principles of Flight or "Aeromystique" ;)

090 COM = Communications

• 091 VFR COM = VFR Communications
• 092 IFR COM = IFR Communications

Only one of these subjects is totally new and it's called IFR Communications. Of course many of the old subjects have now some new additional things to learn (like high-speed aerodynamics in POF and polar stereographic charts in NAV), but most of the items are familiar from the CPL course.


This time we are doing things a little differently compared to the CPL course. We will go through half of the subjects, do the school exams and then the Trafi (Finnish CAA) exams out of the way before going through the other half. In my opinion, this is a huge improvement since now you can concentrate on 6-7 subjects, pass the exams and then "forget" about them and start worrying about the other half, instead of keeping current and remembering everything from all of the 14 subjects at once.

So, here we go again!


PS: I will be posting at a slightly lousier pace from now on, since well.. theory is theory and there's really not much to say about my daily school-life. Wake up in the morning, go to school, sit there for seven hours, go back home exhausted, open the computer, start going through question banks, go to sleep.. and so on :)

CPL Skill Test

I did it, and now it's over!

Today I flew the CPL skill test. I managed to pass it successfully and I'm now off for a three-week vacation until the ATPL theory course begins.

Not a mere student pilot anymore :)

The Day began with normal preparations for a route around the Helsinki-Vantaa CTR area. We were told beforehand to expect diversions and such during the flight. After checking the plane and doing all the paperwork, we had a short theoretical interview with the flight examiner. Subjects consisted of general technical issues, radio failures, weather minimums and other basic stuff. I prepared for the interview by reading about working hour limits, CPL requirements and privileges, and everything from OPS M1-1.

After the interview it was time for the flight. It consisted of basically everything we have been taught. In addition to all the obvious flight tasks like take-off, radio communication and basic maneuvers there was some chart navigation, diversions, engine failures, spot landings, flapless landings and instrument flying. Everything went quite well, expect that I had some trouble finding a certain small village, but finally managed to locate it. When it was time to do steep turns the artificial horizon went inoperative, and it wasn't easy to look at the instructors instruments and I had to focus a lot not to let the plane gain or lose any altitude while turning.

When we had done most of the exercises, it was time to head back to Malmi. The examiner said that if I now just remember to take the landing gear down before landing, I'll pass the skill test! And so I passed it :)

Here is a little summary of my current flight hours:

Total time: 171h 17min
PIC: 79h 10min
Dual: 94h 57min

C152: 128h 11min
C172: 21h 33min
P28T: 21h 33min

Take-offs by day: 418
Take-offs by night: 17
Landings by day: 418
Landings by night: 17

The final Piper-flights

There's only a handful of flight exercises left with the Piper until our CPL skill test. Today I got to fly for the first time with the Papa Bravo Alpha, our school's other Piper. Both of them are quite the same in terms of equipment but everyone seems to agree that the PBA is more unforgiving in landings and handling in general. I didn't notice that much difference.

The PBA. Weather has been very good lately. It's quite cold and the sky is clear and crisp.

After todays flights, I only have the school's review flight left. The review flight has the same tasks as the actual skill test and I will be flying it tomorrow. My CPL skill test is booked for Monday. If that goes well, I'll finally gain my license.. Looking forward to it!

Here we go again!

Day off

This one morning I looked out of the window and saw a very nice autumn day beginning. I didn't have a school day but just had to go flying. So towards Malmi I went and took my ultra-aviation club's Zephyr out of the hangar.

Heading towards Hyvinkää

I've now been flying ultralights for about one hour every month. And since I don't have any solo flights left in school anymore, it's nice to be able to fly just for fun once in a while.

The simple panel of the Zephyr, with only the basic flight and engine instruments.

I flew a little cross-country flight to Hyvinkää and Nummela, making landings to both airfields. It was fun to fly alone in an ultra after a long time of taking friends up into the sky. I got to experience the incredible rate of climb these little airplanes have. Quite a different feeling when comparing it to the Piper.

Nummela airfield ENFU

A Flight to Estonia

Our Piper-phase includes two cross-country flights, which have traditionally been visits to nearby countries, mainly Sweden and Estonia. I got to fly to the latter and was really looking forward to it since I've been to Estonia many times but never flown there myself.

Our plan was to fly from Malmi over the ocean to the eastern side of Tallin, and continue from there towards Rapla aerodrome (EERA), which is a grass-field with two quite long runways. However, this was only a route fix and we didn't plan a touch-and-go landing there. From Rapla the flight would continue towards Hiiumaa island and Kärdla airport (EEKA), which after we would fly to Saaremaa and make a touch-and-go landing on Kuressaare airport (EEKU). After that the final leg would be to fly straight to Pärnu (EEPU) and land there. I was a passenger for the route there and flew the exact same route back to Finland.

Crossing the ocean

So, off we went and headed straight towards the sea. Flying over the sea lasts only about 15-20 minutes and we flew at an altitude of 3000 feet. Tallin ATC had all the information of our flight and service was excellent. "Oscar Golf Alfa, continue via flight plan route". In no time we were no longer in Finland, but in Estonia.

EERA Airfield

After arriving to Estonian airspace, our next waypoint was the Rapla airfield. In Estonia, most uncontrolled aerodromes are grass-fields and usually share a common VFR frequency. However, Rapla had its own radio frequency and we could even find aerodrome charts from the Estonian AIP. The grass-fields differ a lot from Finnish ones in such that they can be quite large and have long runways. Finnish grass-fields are usually meant only for ultralights but nothing would prevent a 1300kg Piper from taking off this one. The main runway was more than one kilometer long.

Colorful scenery

 The basic landscapes differ somehow from the Finnish ones too. There's lots of reddish-brown swamps and almost no lakes at all. The trees are often those with leaves and that makes the scenery more colorful especially in the autumn. Also, the countryside is quite different since there's almost no buildings anywhere to be seen. Estonia seems to have lots of totally empty, uninhabitated areas.

Kärdla Airport EEKA

 After another small ocean-crossing we arrived to Hiiumaa and made a touch-and-go on its only airport, Kärdla, an AFIS aerodrome that was now closed. Power set, speed alive, rotate, left turn and heading towards the south and Saaremaa island.

Kuressaare

Soon after taking off from Kärdla we contacted Kuressaare, which is also an AFIS aerodrome. A very kind female voice answered and yet again the quality of ATC service was something we've not always been used to in Finland.

Kuressaare Airport EEKU

 Kuressaare Airport is located near the Roomassaare dock and has two runways. We did a touch-and-go to the longer one. It was very fun to see this town from the air since I've visited it in my youth about 20 times. My parents even have a small apartment there. I think I will be flying here with friends for a few times after I get my licence.

On final to Pärnu

 The last leg went by quickly and in no time we were in Pärnu and making a landing there. The runway was interesting since it's made of concrete blocks and feels very different to the usual ones.

Pärnu Airport EEPU, and it's main building and ATC tower.

 Pärnu is an old Soviet military base, which can easily be recognized from the buildings and other architecture. The whole airport was filled with old MIG-fighter hangars, which were basically little hills with tunnels in them.

A view from the briefing room.

Upon arrival we called us a taxi and went to the town to eat at a very nice pizza/pasta restaurant with low prices. We also went to a market to buy some essential supplies, which-after it was time to head back to the airfield and fly home. Now it was my turn and I enjoyed every minute of it!

Pärnu even had a dedicated pilot's supply store filled with necessary equipment :)

The Piper-phase continues..

Another week has passed and I've been flying more flights with the Piper Turbo Arrow. I now have about five hours of experience with the plane and I've counted that our syllabus includes a total of about 20 hours of Piper-flying. That's more than it used to be a few years back, fortunately.

In addition I've now also flown my VFR Navigation Progress Check, which was the last flight (in the CPL syllabus) with the Cessna, 172 in this instance. The aim of the flight was to check that my cross-country flying, flight planning and airplane handling are in a level expected at this point from a commercial pilot student. We basically did everything one can do with a small plane, diversion exercises, simulated instrument flying, low-level navigation, sudden engine failures and forced landings, touch-and-go landings, spot landings to uncontrolled airfields and radio navigation. Needless to say, the flight was quite exhausting!

Taking off from Malmi runway 09 on a rainy morning.

It has been increasingly rainy for the past week, which has lead to unfortunate cancellations. On top of that there was a battery-problem that grounded our plane for a few days, so this week I've only gotten airborne on one day!

The view from the back seat at about 2500 feet.

The only flight I got to fly was a combined basic instrument & traffic circuit exercise, in which we flew to Lappeenranta, did the traffic circuits there and then flew back. We usually conduct these flights so that there are two students on board. The other one flies there and the other one flies back. In this case I was sitting as an observer on the first leg and then flew back to Malmi.

VFR on top, at 4000 feet.

The flight to Lappeenranta had some awesome scenery involved since we flew on top of an overcast layer of clouds for most of the time. At some point it seemed the random open spots started to disappear so it was necessary to dive below the layer.

A Ryanair B737 landed in Lappeenranta right after us.

On this flight it finally seemed that the radio navigation exercise with instrument goggles on didn't take that much capacity and I could actually enjoy the flight. I think the careful flight planning also did its part in reducing the workload. Or maybe it is the relative stability of the Piper compared to the Cessna.

First flights with the Piper Turbo Arrow IV

Finally the Piper flying has started and I now have about three hours of flight experience with this fine bird. In addition, I've been sitting a lot in the backseat as an observer. With this experience, I must say that I like the plane very much and would love to go somewhere far with it. For a basic half-hour scenery flight the C152 is maybe better with its simplicity but this one is aimed for cross-country flying and feels far better suited to it than the C172, for example. I think that after gaining my licence, I'd rather fly Pipers than Cessnas except for the 152 maybe.

My new favourite!

The Piper feel different to the Cessna, being a faster airplane with a low-wing configuration. When applying full throttle in takeoff, you actually feel a little force pushing you to your seat. Also, in the air, the plane handles very firmly and calmly and feels like a real airplane!

The passenger cabin. With its soft seats and window curtains it almost feels like being onboard a real regional airtaxi.

The first three flights have been training area exercises in which we have learned some basic maneuvres and procedures and gained a little touch on the plane itself. We've also been practising some emergencies like landing gear failures, engine failures and forced landings. Everything so far has been very interesting and I'm very much looking forward into flying more with the Piper Turbo Arrow!

Flying between cloud layers!

My last time flying the Cessna..

..Well not, actually. But today I've flown my last remaining solo cross-country flight in our CPL flight training syllabus, which is also my last solo flight in the school program. Actually we still have one Cessna flight left, which is the VFR navigation progress check we're supposed to fly after flying five hours in the Piper. For some reason our syllabus doesn't give us the required 50 hours of cross-country PIC needed for the instrument rating so in reality we'll be flying some cross-country with the Cessna's off-syllabus after receiving our licences until we get the total of 50 hours.

Heading to Kuopio at 3000 feet. Some stratocumulus is starting to build up from the morning fog.

So, since a few of our 152's were standing at Kuopio because of the night flying training, my objective was to fly there in the backseat of our C172 and then take a Cessna and fly it back to Malmi. So off we went with a plane fully loaded with three students (with the same objective) and a PPL-licence holding student in the captains seat. I was clearly in the role of cabin crew since I bought everyone some drinks and food for the flight from Malmi's restaurant.

The flight to Kuopio was totally epic since the whole middle-Finland was overcast with radiation fog that had convected to very low stratocumulus. Flying on top of such a layer gives you a strong illusion of being very high, the view is almost the same as one would see from an airliner. Very nice..!

"Oscar Oscar Kilo, Flight level 360 established.."

Landing to the destination was a little tough because of low clouds but luckily we found an opening from which we could dive into the airport. Flying at 5000 feet, we saw that the cloud layer was open from all sides except the south so we would definately get safely to the ground in VMC. It was only that we were lucky to be able to fly straight to the airport without flying further north in order to get down from the cloud top.

After having landed to Kuopio, it was quite clear that I could'nt get back into the air again due to the low cloud base and our extended student minimums (8km visibility, 1500ft cloud base). The visibility was great but clouds were at 800 feet so we headed to the canteen to plan things out... ...but after two hours all the clouds had gone and it was total CAVOK at Kuopio, so off we went!

All of our four planes lined up at the holding point, me being number two. A Finnair E170 landed before us.

I headed to Tampere in order to gain a little more flight time. It was fun to fly to the same place with three planes and discuss everything via radio. There's a frequency one can use for normal conversation where RTF phraseology is not required and ATC isn't present.

Jyväskylä Airport EFJY. I've never landed there and saw this one from the air for the first time.

Flying was very easy since I had plotted my route from VOR to VOR and just followed the radials checking the map every now and then. The weather was absolutely perfect and the plane required almost no control at all...

Tampere EFTP. A military C-17 Globemaster in the background.

After refueling at Tampere, it was time to head back to a very uneventful last leg back to Malmi. A nice cross-country experience, and a perfect closure to my Cessna-flying... ...at least for a while :)

Piper ground training & First simulator exercises

We've now been sitting in the classroom again studying the techical aspects and procedures of the Piper Turbo Arrow. The Piper's role in SL Flight Training is that it's a so-called "complex airplane" required to be used in CPL flight training. By complex the requlations refer to an aircraft with retractable landing gear and a constant speed propeller.

Our school has two Piper PA-28RT-201T Turbo Arrow IV airplanes, the light brown and blue OH-PGA and the red OH-PBA. They are equipped with quite the same amount of features. The PBA has an RMI instead of the PGA's RBI, but the PGA has a two-axis autopilot while the PBA has only a basic wing leveller.

There it is, waiting for me to fly it :)

The theoretical studies were quite straightforward. We went through the basic systems of the plane mainly focusing on the differences compared to the Cessna's. We also studied all the different airspeeds one must know in advance.

After the classroom studies we had some ground training in our hangar, where we went through the pre-flight inspection items and discussed the plane's cockpit, instrument panel and all the different levers and switches.

Some techical aspects we went through.

When the theoretical studies and ground training was complete, it was time to fly for the first time in our schools FNPT II simulator, which is configured to resemble a Piper Turbo Arrow. Our syllabus included three hours of simulator flying in three different sessions, which basically consisted of exercises closely related to the upcoming Piper flights.

SL Flight Training's FNPT II simulator.

Although the simulator isn't realistic enough to give a feel of flying the real Piper, it was useful as a means of learning the new checklists, by heart items and callouts. The more complex environment calls for more complex checklists and procedures so there was quite a few new things to learn. However, I felt I got quite a good grasp of the differences already. The hardest thing in my opinion was all the different power settings (manifold pressure / RPM) and remembering, which lever to move first.

The cockpit of the FNPT II. Much better lightning than in the real plane!

Night flying @ EFKU

One of probably the nicest experiences in my pilot training is now added to my collection of memorable flying moments!

In other words, I've now returned back to home from a five-day trip to Kuopio airport, where we had our night flying course. We were advised beforehands to shift our sleeping pattern because at Kuopio, the day would start at about nine o'clock in the evening and end at about four or five in the morning. We would be sleeping in a school apartment, which was located at the airport at less than a hundred meters from the apron.

Ready for taxi in to the darkness.

The first night's program was to fly the two training area exercises combined into one flight and we were briefed thoroughly about minimum safe altitudes, the locations of the different training areas (only one plane in each of them, to avoid collisions at night), and safety precautions as well as operational procedures and differences in everyday flying-related tasks at night. We were allowed to use the briefing and flight preparation lounge of a local parachuting club and it was very cozy indeed.

It was a really nice and special feeling to take off for the first time at night. I had somehow in my mind associated night flying with the relaxing post-sunset twilight summer flying I'd done before but somehow the amount of darkness only really occurred to me after we started taxiing to the runway. It really was pitch-black and you could see nothing but darkness and the aerodrome lights. Also the flying felt like a combination of VFR- and instrument operation. We did some instrument turns, 30- and 45-degree turns, spiral dive recovery procedures, slow flying and stalls and then returned for landing.

The C152 cockpit at night. Only the VOR and ADF are actually lighted. The lightning for the rest of the instruments comes from a red light in the roof.

Since there were a few signs of worse weather ahead, the second night was dedicated to cross-country flying, since it has the most restricting minimum weather. My cross-country flight was from Kuopio to Joensuu via a few enroute checkpoints and from there back to Kuopio. For the first time in a long time I actually took my time planning this short flight and calculated every useful VOR-radial and DME-distances for every checkpoint, thoroughly checked the MSA's and wrote notes to self about the different frequencies and tasks at every phase of the flight in order to ease my workload when actually airborne. The flight lasted a little less than two hours and had to be one of the most atmospheric flights I've ever flown. Night navigation was very interesting and challenging and somehow everything felt more epic than in daylight.

The route for my night navigation exercise.

Flight planning and efforts to improve night vision ;)

We only had traffic circuit exercises left for nights three and four, and since the weather stayed good we got to fly all of them in time. Normally, I've been getting a little bored of the traffic circuit flights at this point but these I looked very much forward into. We made some interesting landings with the Papi-lights off and simulating electrical failures by turning all the instrument and cockpit lights off.

After two flights with an instructor, it was my turn to go solo and fly five take off's and full stop landings at night in the traffic circuit. This solo flight was brief and ended before I got to think about what I was doing, so I didn't quite get into the "here I now am, flying at night" -feeling but all in all, it was memorable and fun.

On final runway 33.

So now its actually dark. An approach with a simulated electrical malfunction.

I'm very much looking forward to continuing night flying when I get my license!

PS. Starting monday next week, it's time to say farewell to active Cessna-flying and defect to the Piper-side of the single-engine piston fence :)

Second AFIS-flight & Flight levels

I've now flown my second solo cross-country flight to an AFIS aerodrome. We flew this one with a course mate using both our own planes. Having the exact same route planned and since I was always a few miles behind, navigation was easy for me. I basically just followed the other plane checking headings, courses and ATO's every now and then :)

This eased my workload a bit since my OH-CAP doesn't have a DME and also the ADF seems to wander around quite a lot.

Ready at holding point Kilo. First on the line is the Diamond DA40.

Our destination today was Seinäjoki airport (EFSI). I hadn't been there before so it was nice to visit and get to know the place. The ground crew were very nice and even opened the cafeteria for us.

Seinäjoki Airport EFSI

I flew the route at FL075 since I wanted to get on top of the growing cumulus clouds. I therefore also got the flight level exercise done and I now don't need to climb to the levels in my last remaining cross-country flight if, for example, the weather doesn't allow it. Now I'm off to packing some bags since I'll be driving to Kuopio airport tomorrow to do some night flying!

Night Flying theories

We've now been sitting in the classroom for two days going through the little theory course included in the night flying training. There's actually no strict guidelines as to what should be included and covered in theory but here at SL Flight Training the course was split into four parts and lasted for about 7-8 hours.
The four parts were:

1. Aviation rules and regulations in night flying
2. Human performance and limitations at night
3. Operational procedures regarding night flying
4. Aerodrome lights and obstacles

A few pages of material to be browsed through.

It was very interesting to hear about the differences of night flying before actually doing it. Like engine failure for example, what if you can't see where to make a forced landing? Everything is dark and you wouldn't know if you'll crash into a lake, forest or field. What to do then? I also find the optical and sensorial illusions very interesting and we discussed things like the black hole approach and fake horizons.

In my opinion, this course covered really well all the basic aspects and I now feel quite prepared for next weeks flights. Will be writing about those next!

Hanging around at Nummela & some glider aerobatics!

It's been quiet lately. Bad weather and the fact that our school's new course have now been starting flying means I have been grounded for a while. There have been days when I've had a plane reserved for me but I've been very unlucky and it always seems to rain when I'm about to have a school day. I also requested a few days off a while ago due to a trip to Copenhagen, and all this has led to a situation where I've now had a three-week "vacation" having only gotten airborne once during this period! But I'm in no hurry since I only have two PIC flights left before we'll move on to the Piper and I think I'll manage to fly those flights out of the way.

Recently I've been hanging around for two complete days at Nummela airfield gaining a little extra motivation and of course flying a lot. In addition to practicing with the ultralight, I also got to be on board the towplane for quite a few flights. It's really nice since I've been offered a chance to fly this plane part-time after I achieve my license. What a fun way of gaining valuable experience and those golden hours! The plane in question is the PIK-15 "Hinu", which is a finnish-made plane designed solely for aerotowing. I'll go more in-depth once I start flying it myself.

The cockpit of the PIK-15 Hinu. A very simple layout, even compared to the C152. No radio navigation equipment, no transponder, just the basics you need to get flying.

There the glider is, following us!

I also got to fly a little aerobatic flight with our two-seater glider ASK-21 with one of the flight instructors at the field, who is my good friend. Nice!

A slightly different perspective on the world

Approaching the airfield and making a high-speed pass..

When the day started to come to an end me and the tow pilot decided to fly a little cross country flight with the FK9 ELA. We flew first to Torbacka, which is an ultralight-only grass field with only 300 meters of runway, from there to Hanko, then to Genböle grass field, and from there back to Nummela via Kiikala aerodrome. What's better than casually flying around with another pilot-friend, talking about the hobby/profession and enjoying evening scenery? Nothing.

You've seen lots of nice scenery so here's something else for a change. Here we're flying towards Hanko airfield at FL085.  Notice the airplane profile setting ;)

Some information about the future:

Starting next tuesday we will be having our Night Rating theory course, which lasts for two days and after that we are going to some other airfield, probably Mikkeli or Kuopio, for at least one week to fly all of the night flights in the CPL syllabus. After the night rating we'll fly a few flights in the FNPTII for the first time and then move on to the Piper Turbo Arrow IV. Looking forward to all of this!