After our host airline was decided, until we left for summer holidays on the day before midsummer, we practiced instrument flying in a simulator. After the holidays we've finally been flying again, after a long period on the ground - since April for many of us. So now we're doing instrument flying both in the simulator like before, and in the aircraft.
To fly by IFR, instrument flying rules, means that we can't just freely choose direction and altitude of flight, but we need clearance for anything we do throughout the flight. The reason is that IFR doesn't require us to see anything (we can go through clouds or fog) so the air traffic controller must make sure we keep a safe distance to all other traffic. So for example, when we are approaching our destination and need to change heading and/or altitude we get a simple clearance such as "University 415, turn right heading 260 degrees, descend altitude 2000 feet", and usually we need a couple of such clearances in order to approach the runway correctly for landing.
Since we finished our Private Pilot's Licence education in April, we do all radio communication in English. Also, we do a bunch of "call-outs", which also are in English, internally in the cockpit at certain occasions in order to remind each other (the other pilot) of important procedures to check. For example, on an instrument approach we have a certain altitude at which we must see the runway in order to be allowed to land. 1000 feet above that altitude we say loudly "1000 above - stabilized" if we are within certain limits of the ideal track to the runway, and later at 100 feet above we say "approaching minimums", and finally "minimums" at the exact altitude. If we still then can't see anything, we say "going around", set full power and climb as fast as possible to a decided safe altitude. Then we may try again on a new approach, or go to another airport that has better weather.
Next week will be really fun and exciting. On Thursday 15th me and three classmates will board one of the larger twin-engine aircrafts of the school, a Piper PA-31 Navajo, and fly as passengers to Bardufoss in northern Norway (fairly close to Tromsö, 150 km northwest of Kiruna). The rest of the class will fly commercially there. Then from Friday to the following Tuesday we'll fly the usual airplanes Cirrus SR-20 on a couple of navigations with two students in each plane (no instructor). We will decide routes and plan the flights all by ourselves, and the flights will most certainly include flying around in a couple of Norwegian fjords, flying over and around glaciers, Sweden's highest mountain Kebnekaise, going to Kiruna and maybe other Swedish destinations.
It will be really fun, the drawback is however that we'll probably need to pay for the regular flight tickets and the accomodation ourselves. We're trying to get CSN loan for it, but I'm personally not so optimistic about that. On the way back, except for another four classmates, we'll take regular flights back to Sweden on Wednesday 21st. I'm going to Stockholm in order to visit Falun for a few days, and then go back before school resumes in the week after that.
Photos:
My father visited me during the weekend before midsummer, and of course I showed him a part of Skåne from above with the flight club's airplane.
Then just a few days before the holidays, me and two classmates booked a flight club plane for the whole day and flew in the morning out of Swedish territory, the first time for any of us to do that. We went to the small island of Rügen in northern Germany and did some sightseeing during the day. In the photo is the Swedish coastline south of Malmö we're leaving behind us.
Three happy pilots on adventure.
On downwind for landing runway 09 at Rügen airport.
Having landed at Rügen regional airport. Funny but a little annoying that the tower controller tried to speak German with us several times during the approach. Luckily, my two friends knew some German from school. Anyway, it was a nice small airport without regular air traffic. The landing and parking fee was only 8 euros, so really cheap. In Sweden it's usually around 250 kr (28 euros) if you don't have a yearly free landing ticket.
At another occasion, I flew with a friend and we rounded Sweden's highest building of Turning Torso residential skyscraper in Malmö.
We then landed at Sturup airport. When landing at a larger airport, usually you get picked up by a security car and they drive you to the terminal. Nice service!
Recently this is the place where I study most often.
On a weekend, me and some classmates went to the famous art work of Nimis (which Lars Vilks made when he was young), which is composed of a number of tall irregular wooden towers, which are really fun to climb. Located in a national park, it's really beautiful, but also the work itself is completely illegal which makes it really interesting since it's construction started more than 30 years ago, and the enormous construction work was performed mainly by only one person.
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