As it transpired the weather forecast was quite accurate and day seven started with an
overcast sky and a cloud base at 400 feet and so it was obvious there would be no flying
in the immediate future. My instructor decided that this would make a good day to
concentrate on ground school so we looked at some basic map reading, course planning and
distance, and time and fuel calculations together with details of how to calculate weight
and balance. The time also gave me an opportunity to do some more studying for the
meteorology examination, the only time I had spent so far on this particular subject was
on the eight hour flight from Gatwick to Orlando meaning that I had, of course, missed out
on the in-flight entertainment!
Bearing in mind the weather my instructor considered that it might be a good time to
go and talk to the Tower controller about the general radio calls and as it transpired
that was a really good idea. The controller was very pleased to show me around, and
despite his staccato like radio manner, in person he was totally different. He was more
than happy to go through with me the system that he used to control aircraft within his
airspace, and more importantly for me, the entry procedures that he used for aircraft
joining the circuit.
This was of enormous benefit to me as it now meant that I could at least have some
idea of what the controller would say to me in the air prior to him actually issuing the
instruction. Having met him it also meant that our subsequent radio communications would
have a more personal feel rather than just anonymous exchanges over the radio. This last
aspect was to prove of great value. He obviously appreciated our discussion regarding my
general problems with handling radio communications and agreed that provided I always
started my initial radio call with "good morning" or "good afternoon"
he would make a conscious effort to slow down his rate of speech!
The weather did not improve at all in the afternoon and in the event I was unable to
do any flying at all that day, total instruction would remain at fourteen hours and fifty
five minutes although this is still an average over the first week of over two hours each
day, and well in excess of what I could have expected to achieve in the UK. My confidence
had also been restored in terms of my practical flying skills and this, combined with
getting four of the written examinations out of the way, meant that I considered I was
back on track to achieve the licence within the remaining two weeks.
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