oh dear

After a couple of weeks with poor weather and so having to call off some trial flights I finally managed to get up on Saturday.

My search for a club in Central Scotland to train for a PPL with had been narrowed down to Tayside at Perth, Flight Academy Scotland at Cumbernauld and Leading Edge Flight Training also at Cumbernauld. Due to the 80 mile trip to Perth, Tayside were 3rd on the list.

Anyway, I had an hour in the Katana with FlightAcademyScotland. A recent startup by 2 instructors from the Cumbernauld Flying Club, I found them to be professional, but, in my view, a bit lacking in atmosphere. I’d liken it to a dentists waiting room. The Katana DA-20 I found to be light and responsive, but cramped. I am broad at the shoulder so using the trim switch entailed shoving the other guy out the way. Also found that the headset was fouling the canopy as I looked around.

After a short break I then had a half hour with Leading Edge FT on a Tomahawk. LE-FT are another new startup at Cumbernauld, with instructors who have moved over from Tayside at Glenrothes. The lesson started well, with an introduction to the walk round, proceeded after startup to taxying, thrown in at the deep end for someone who had never taxied an aircraft before. Although the Tomahawk is quite a bit older than the Katana, being heavier it didn’t bounce about as much, and also did not feel as cramped. This, along with a very friendly atmosphere, has persuaded me to start with Leading Edge Flight Training.

So that is it, I’ve started and now have a whacking 90 minutes in my log 😀 So I’d like to say thanks to the forum for the encouragement to actually do it.

goodbye wallet, hello poverty 😉

Ken