needles 1,013 Posted April 8, 2012 Report Share Posted April 8, 2012 Hi Guys, Well, I have had a great weekend which started with a very nice 1.5hr flight over the Highlands in this little beauty. (Courtesy of Highland Aviation website) http://www.highlandaviation.com/ It turned out to be a little lumpy in places but overall it was a great experience. My co-pilot was a guy called John Sharky, who has been in the Highlands for some time as a commercial pilot but nowadays he is retired and giving guys like myself a great time by letting us fly with him. He let me have almost complete control of the flying whilst he did all the radio work. Here we are heading towards Loch Ness from EGPE runway 23. After circling around Drumnadrochit a couple of times we headed north over some of the rugged terrain that surrounds where we live. Having to keep my eyes alert for another aircraft in the vicinity, With my sister behind me and Wifey sat next to her in the back, making sure there were plenty of pics to show what we did, I had to concentrate hard as there were several shrill shouts from them as we hit the lumpy parts. All in all a brilliant afternoon on Good Friday. There will obviously be more pics posted at a later date along with some movie files also but I'm tired and need to get to bed. John also gave me a little hope by stating that I may be able to go for a NPPL as the medical section is nowhere near as stringent as it is for the PPL. It would just mean I could only fly in the UK. He actually let me takeoff and land which was really exciting and when the videos are posted you will see that I actually took off and landed twice, which was a real bonus. Mutleys Hangar got a real airing during the flight along with FSX and my panel build. John never once scoffed at the fact that I have learnt everything from FSX, you guys (you know who you are) and the various books and magazines I have. Hope you enjoy these pics as much as I do. Link to post Share on other sites
Clem Wu 1 Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 Awesome! Sounds like a lot of fun Link to post Share on other sites
PanzerFodder 0 Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 Very nice Brian, looking forward to seeing the rest of your shots Cheer's...Graham... Link to post Share on other sites
UKJim 502 Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 Jealous <- Yes Great shots and looks like you had a lot if fun mate! Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,497 Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 Hi Brian, I am so pleased you had a great day along with Mags and your sister. It's good that you have put all that virtual flying skill into practice and thanks for the Mutley's Hangar comments, good to see you wear your uniform when off duty!! Looking forward to the photos and videos when they come. Cheers, Joe Link to post Share on other sites
hurricanemk1c 195 Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 I like the shirt! Looks like you had fun! Link to post Share on other sites
dodgy-alan 1,587 Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 Sounds like great fun, I,m glad you enjoyed it. Reminds me of the flying lessons I took many years ago with the London School of Flying at Denham. I didnt have the benefit of flight sim then but had some nav experience from the Merchant Navy. Handling an aircraft after a ship is very similar only you have remember the 3rd dimension !! Link to post Share on other sites
ddavid 149 Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 The sky's the limit, Bri' - nice one, mate! Cheers - Dai. Link to post Share on other sites
needles 1,013 Posted April 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 Cheers Guys. The rest will be on display when my sister has returned home on Wednesday. I have to look after the family first, then I can get down to some serious editing. It was indeed a very good couple of hours both in the air and on the ground. Cheers for now Brian Link to post Share on other sites
Tim_A 997 Posted April 11, 2012 Report Share Posted April 11, 2012 I think we need to redesign the shirt to say flight crew... Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,497 Posted April 11, 2012 Report Share Posted April 11, 2012 I think we need to redesign the shirt to say flight crew... Some gold thread and a needle for Needles in the post, get sewing! Link to post Share on other sites
needles 1,013 Posted April 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2012 Ooooh! goody. I can knit also. Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,314 Posted April 12, 2012 Report Share Posted April 12, 2012 That sure does look like a heck of a lot of fun. BTW Who do you have to grease to get one of those fine shirts? Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,497 Posted April 12, 2012 Report Share Posted April 12, 2012 BTW Who do you have to grease to get one of those fine shirts? Who do you think? Brian's is staff uniform. Link to post Share on other sites
needles 1,013 Posted April 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 OK Guys, here as promised are the remaining pics taken during my flight recently. This is the aerial view of EGPE, my local airport. Showing runway 23 which I took off and landed on, during my first session and Runway 30, a short runway which I landed on after my 2nd session as there was quite a bit of unhealthy weather coming in from the east which prevented us going that way for a downwind & final onto 23. This next picture shows the routes we took. Here is our trusty stead for the duration. A Piper Warrior II. As our qualified Pilot, John Sharky was making sure wifey and sister in the rear had their belts on and adjusted properly, he let me do the pre flight checks. I was stunned as I was only discussing that I was into flight simming, so he said I could go ahead and do the business and he would handle the radio. That's when I started shaking. He did double check everything though. Here is the office for the day. I was quite amazed at how much it sinks in. All that knowledge from flight simming. And eventually we start our taxiing out to Runway 23 taking off to the west . Holding short rwy23 for a Dash 8 coming in. Take off approved and we are in sight of Inverness and the Kessock Bridge carrying the A9 Northwards. Over Inverness City Following the Caledonian Canal and the River Ness, West towards Loch Ness. Loch Duntelchaig on the Southern hills of Loch Ness. And here she is. Loch Ness and the Great Glen, with Mealfourvonie, our local mountain (not a Munro). Turning north westerly into Glen Urquhart, we bank around and circle over our house and Drumnadrochit. The bleak moors only a stones throw from our house. It got a bit lumpy over here. Looking back towards Loch Ness and down Glen Urquhart. It was very difficult not to look at the instrumentation but John kept repeating this was a VFR flight so I had to look out of the window. It takes some getting used to. A wee surprise for Joe. The Cromarty Firth in sight and on our way back to the airfield. A Great day and an even greater couple of hours. I can thoroughly recommend you all have a go at flying in the Highlands of Scotland. There will be a video shortly but I'm still working on it. Cheers and thanks for viewing. Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,497 Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 Great shots Brian, I am liking the panel of the Warrior it looks so familiar. Sure is beautiful countryside and what a way to see it. *Ahem* I wondered where the baton had got to! Link to post Share on other sites
hurricanemk1c 195 Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 Nice shots Brian! Looks like you had fun! Link to post Share on other sites
needles 1,013 Posted April 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 Cheers Joe. I had a blast Kieran. I am now saving for maybe a 2 or 3 hour flight later in the summer/autumn. It really is a joy to fly around the Highlands. It was a wee bit lumpy and murky when I was out last but I'm hoping to choose a good clear day next time. Cheers Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,314 Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 Looked so good I decided to fly it myself, just happened to have the Warrior in my hanger. Thanks for showing your route, that along with PlanG and on on my way.... Link to post Share on other sites
needles 1,013 Posted April 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 Cheers Brett, glad you enjoyed looking as much as I enjoyed the flight. Hope your flight shows what I saw. It is quite stunning scenery in the Highlands of Scotland. I am lucky to live here. Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 That looked like a lot of fun Brian.. I must admit I'm a bit jealous And these photos confirms that the weather for Leg 3 of the MEBAR was spot on Link to post Share on other sites
needles 1,013 Posted April 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 Thanks Micke. You should come over and do some flying in the Highlands, it's great fun. But you also have some wonderful scenery to fly around eh. Link to post Share on other sites
dodgy-alan 1,587 Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 Great photos there, fantastic scenery. Loch Ness looks awesome. Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,314 Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 Cheers Brett, glad you enjoyed looking as much as I enjoyed the flight. Hope your flight shows what I saw. It is quite stunning scenery in the Highlands of Scotland. I am lucky to live here. It didn't look anywhere near as beautiful as what I saw in your pic's but I have a good imagination plus your visual aids made for a good trip. I like to look over my flight areas using the hybred selection in Google map and see what things really look like. There were roads and the lakes to use as guidence for the flight. Must have been exciting having to alter your flight plan due to the wind and weather and land on the shorter runway. That is one big airport, quite a taxi from parking spot 1 to the threshold of 23. Link to post Share on other sites
needles 1,013 Posted April 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 Hey Brett, If you think EGPE is a big airport, try landing a 737 or similar there. They have a saying here, that the airport is ****** since we took the thatched roof off ha ha. Cheers Link to post Share on other sites
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