StephHi Joe,
While I find it hard to believe that the boss of the GA section of the CAA didn’t know the exact terms of the currency of his own license (mind you, he may have a very specific type that has a special requirement, who knows), I can tell you that, not owning an aircraft, I only managed to log between 30h and 40h a year (for very good years)… which is almost between 3 and 4 grand! That’s more than 2h a month on average, which I think is decent, though the main restriction is budget (1) and weather (2).
Cheers,
Steph
StephPhotos
Not sure why the pics did not make it in the first post.. here they come hopefully. The order has been changed though.
Steph
1.Tintagel castle
2.Lake to the North of Bodmin
3.Another ruined castle somewhere around okehampton
4.Looking towards Cornwall
5.Around Bideford (or not too far ;))
6.North Devon country side
7.North Coast
8.Towards Ilfracombe (?)
9.Very focused
10.North East of Taunton (far away the Bristol Channel)
StephThat’s fantastic John! No matter what, that’s garranteed fun (and some work, yes) for a few good months and many more I hope.
I came back from a flight last Monday and I happen to land just before a guy doing his first solo. We met afterwards and the thrill and joy on this guy’s face was superb, hands shaking and everything. Always a refreshing sight!
All the best then,
Steph
StephHi -Steph- !
I didn’t realise there was another “Steph” in da house 😉 furthermore born on the same year as me.
Anyway these are all fantastic pictures!! A late welcome from another French enthousiast living on the other side of the channel for now.
The photos on your Konnet website are stunning too and well worth a visit.
Cheers,
Steph
StephThanks for the link Seagull. Maybe it’s the way it’s been shot but the aircrafts did seem very low and quite close to the crowd, that’s incredible!
The particular picture “050805AF06” (page 6) made me think of Steve… (I can’t seem to use the link to the pic).
Steph
StephMaybe I’m the “ideal target reader” for TP magazine, I don’t know. What I do know is that every month I’m excited about going through the articles, which I find both informative and interesting.
More than that, I find that reading the mag makes me want to fly even more. It could be true of any flying mag you might say but I seem to relate more to the experiences/flights/adventures and articles in TP.
I am also buying other mags now and then, both in French and English and I can see some aspects that are better in them but it truely depends on the niche of readers it targets. For instance, though I hope to be able to own an aeroplane one day, I don’t necessary want very long+technicle articles with prices and detailed comparisons of every option available, which I find a bit dry in other publications. When the time (and money) comes, I may change my mind and start looking deeper at other papers.
I also love the adventures about people crossing several countries in all sorts of flying machine and each time, TP’s make me want to do the same – and I will! TP never omits the human side of flying either. I like to read what other pilots are feeling towards their aircraft and when flying, as opposed to a very factual description. True, views are subjective then but it’s closer to us.
The pictures are of very good quality. The glossy format is pleasant and I find it has the right “volume”. The French mags seem a bit shorter but I may not have tried them all.
The sort of things that I did like in other mags is for instance a kind of “instructor’s corner”, that each month focuses on a particular aspect of the flying syllabus. TP has some but not always. As a lowish hour PPL (130h PIC), who flies a couple of times of month, I like to be reminded of things we all tend to forget after a while, flying the same way from the same places.
It would also be very useful to have a page now and then to show in which issue such and such aircraft has been reviewed and such and such places has been focused on: I had to go through the exercise several times and it can be long.
I have also seen in other publications more detailed drawings of circuit patterns/noise-sensitive zones in “going places” type of articles, Which I find TP is lacking sometime, preferring a more textual description.
Anyway, sorry for going on about my views but as a very pleased reader, I felt I had to say it and why. So keep up the good work, your mag definitely flies very well!!
Cheers,
Steph
PS: I’m not close to any contributor
StephI’m in shock as well. I have only been checking the forum this morning and I had to read the post twice to make sure I really understood it. Even now I can’t seem to assimilate the message…
I had never met Steve personally but like many others here I have enjoyed his posts very much, always very friendly and passionate.
Funny to think that we joined the forum on the very same day and sort of congratulated each other for finding a “place” with a bunch of friendly people to talk about aviation.
I’m joining everybody’s thoughts for Steve’s family.
I don’t know the details of what happened but, if GA is a dangerous sport itself, where accidents exist, it must not be forgotten that the road kill many more people everyday.
Fly safe of course but bloody hell, drive safe too!
I can’t say more. R.I.P. Steve.
Steph
StephThank you! I did enjoy the pictures too.
Sorry to be ignorant but what did exactly the “race” part consist of? Navigation stuff or quickest circuit?…
Steph
StephBrilliant mate! I like your pics.
I’m grounded due to heavy work strain but I can’t wait to fly again…
Steph
Steph>I have a question: why does it seem that when talking about crossing the atlantic, it’s always about Charles Lindbergh in 1927, supposed to be the first man to cross the ocean and not about Alcock and Brown then?
>Is it because Lindbergh was the first to do it solo? Or maybe from West to East?
Ah, found the answer to my question: Lindbergh was indeed the 91 st person to cross the Atlantic but he was made famous for doing it alone, establishing a speed record in the process.
Steph
StephLate post
Ok, I’m coming back by popular demand 🙂 I would hate to stall a thread approaching final
[Melvyn]
Thanks to have elaborated on Bob and Barry. I’m not sure I have a lot to add…They have so much experience that it is hard to question their skills of course. As for the pedagogy, I have to say that for both, it’s more about the “doing it” than going into theory.
In a way I was expecting some thourough briefings with more explanations about the forces and the gs, the torque effect on some manoeuvres, diagrams etc., stuff I have now read in a book… But I guess it may be better to practice the basics for real in the plane before digging the theory. I’m happy with that anyway but that’s how it’s been done so far.
I had some briefings of course but they were less “formal” than the ones for the PPL for instance.
How did your instructors have approached aeros for those who tried?
[Steve]
A stag week-end based on aeros? Apparently, if perfectly executed, it is possible to perform a barrel roll (and some others) with a full pint glass in your hand without spilling a single drop… that could be a challenge for the occasion 🙂 Anybody tried it?
[PACAIRDH]
Ah, the logarithmic spiral with the chocolate at the end, a very personal view on life indeed! I love chocolate and I find that we tend to go forward in life in a spiral way, repeating some mistake some times (rotating) but not quite the same way… And the logarithmic part is just about noticing that as you get older, time “accelerates”:
-At one year old, living a year represents living your whole life span, a long time!
-At 10, a year represents only a tenth of your whole life, still significant but shorter
-At 40, a year is only a fortieth of your life span, which is not much
So living a year at ten seems way longer than leaving a year at forty. Time accelerates… no? Not necessary a bad thing, I’m just noticing.
I think this thread may have to go around before it reaches final again. What do you think?
Steph
StephMelvyn,
I trained with Barry for the very first session, before he had to stop for a while, then carried on with Bob Cole. Different styles but really enjoyable anyway…
Though I get the usual French-bashing thing from Bob or Pete every time I see them. Not really harmful but they think they’re funny… Ah, it’s now been a few years and I learnt to ignore the comments and just smile back. In the end it’s all in good spirit. So I hope.
Anyway last night they could have said anything, I was on a high and nothing could touch me!
Steph
StephDME,
I did about 4 sessions before December with the instructor and was then cleared to practice the basic shapes on my own. Unfortunately because of the weather and other factors, I could never make that solo session happen. 2 weeks ago I got checked out on the Slingsby again (I usually fly the C172), then went on my own for some locals to get used to the aircraft again and last Saturday, we went for the first aeros session with the instructor since December.
Apparently some of it had sunk in me as he said he was happy for me to practice the basics on my own.
How much dual training did you have?
Steph
StephHello,
Well… sounds strange (stupid?) but I did not know there were recognised/proper methods to fold charts. Thanks for the links. I happen to have done more or less the same as the first one, except that I do refold the chart for certain flights some times… But I make sure I do that at home and never in the cockpit.
Steph
StephNo hard feelings Moggy 🙂
I’m not too inspired with words today but some times pictures speak for themselves 😀
Steph
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