Archive for February, 2008

Flying Lesson @ Murrayfield Aerodrome

The day I am a true nerd, is the day I start blogging more than once a month.

The latest experience worthy of blogging is my first flying lesson I had at the Murrayfield Aerodrome on Saturday February 16, 2008.

Andy Jones @ Murrayfield Aerodrome

I arrived at the Murrayfield Aerodrome at 13:45, ready for the lesson. We sat in the hangar waiting room with another family who had bought their Dad / husband a flying lesson for his birthday. A good 10 minutes after sitting down, the Cessna 152 was commencing its landing and before I knew it, I was sitting with my instructor / co-pilot Dave, as he briefed me on the basic operation of the aircraft.

It was time to fly, so we headed out to the Cessna 152.

Andy Jones boarding the Cessna 152 @ Murrayfield Aerodrome

Andy Jones - standard pose :P

Dave went through a big checklist as I taxied the Cessna away from the hangar area to the start of the runway.

Remembering the theory taught in the briefing, I increased the throttle speed up to 55 knots and took off into the blazing afternoon sun.

Cessna 152 cockpit controls

We began to ascend, and headed out towards the Mandurah coast.

Mandurah Coastline

We reached 4,000 feet and Dave took over the controls to do some crazy aerobatics. He started with 2 loops which were awesome fun, and then he completed a few barrel rolls. The barrel rolls did me in, so he stopped the aerobatics and handed control of the plane back to me.

Andy Jones - First Flight Lesson

Dave had previously set some auto-altitude controls to hold us at around the 4,000 feet mark and let me have the plane to experiment with. I had a bit of a play rolling the plane on it’s Y axis, then we commenced our descent.

We landed at 14:35 and I was presented with my docket – which is a valid lesson should I wish to pursue a private licence.

Cessna 152

I cannot wait to do it all again, it is a little pricey, but definitely worth the $$$.

I recommend the flying lesson to anyone.

Thanks to Dave for being such a terrific tutor, pity he’s a Richmond supporter :P.