Second Solo

After enduring a week of cancelled flights, I finally got up and flew my sortie 111. I thought after a week of non-flying, this is it, I would be rusty like hell and sure make all sorts of attitude errors and probably end up nose-diving into the ground or something.

Ironically, this could be the best sortie I ever flew here in JDK! My first 3 circuits with him were flawless apart from losing 50 ft during turns and overturning/underturning slightly from reference points. The landings were squeaky clean! On my final circuit, he took over the radio calls and requested for options to send cadet on solo (i.e. me). Approval was given and we made a full stop, dropped him off at the engine run-up bay and I got going!

112 was for 2 touch-and-gos and 1 full-stop. My first circuit was done following a Grobe; he was just right in front of me upon upwind (takeoff). I had to make a longer upwind to gain separation from him and on downwind, I had to drop to 85 knots else I would be catching up with him. The bastard did such a slow finals that I was on mid finals when he touched and still the bastard kept rolling and not vacating the runway (it was a full-stop for him). Finally he turned off and tower cleared me for touch-and-go. Exciting stuff!

The other 2 circuits were uneventful and I even had time to enjoy the scenery and time up in the air. I practiced my trimming - trim, then hands off and watched if the aircraft gained or lost height but it was good, able to maintain about plus-minus 50 feet. Trimming skills have improved! The finals were into the headwind so it wasn't a problem keeping the nose on the centre-line. Squeaky clean landings as well!

I am now much more confident with the aircraft; afterall its a machine that has to be tamed and brought under control. I am positive that with a few more sorties, my control will continue to improve and I will have more time for my sightseeing up there in the air :)

*********************************************************

Date: 29 April 2009
Name: Flyboy Johnny
Aircraft: Victor Hotel - Lima Tango Juliet
Time: 1200 to 1300 hrs

Fuel: 160 litres
Endurance: 274 minutes
Oil: 7 quarts
Hours remaining: 42.2 to phase 2
MR: Nil (Noted slight bald patch on starboard tyre)
Noted suction not in the green

ATIS

Code: D
Rwy: 24
Wind: 260-360/10
X-wind: M10 with MDW 03
Vis: 10km
Cloud: Cavok
Temp: 24
QNH: 1020

METAR YPJT 290230Z Auto 36007KT 9999 NDV // NCD 23/08 Q1020 RMK RF 00.0/000.0

TAF YPJT 282218Z 2900/2918 06010KT CAVOK FM290600 20012KT CAVOK FM291400 14010KT CAVOK RMK T 17 25 26 23 Q 1020 1020 1018 1019

1200 to 1240, 0040 minutes, 0.4 tacho, 3+1L
1240 to 1310, 0030 minutes, 0.4 tacho, 2+1L

"SYH, congratulations on your first solo!"

One of an aviator's dreams is to fly; another is to fly solo.

I have finally accomplished both yesterday, 20 April 2009 at 1500 hours. Oh the joy and pressure released from my shoulders!

However in actual fact, I did not fly well yesterday in the solo check. I made so many mistakes, got reference points wrong, overturning and underturning, missed radio calls, the list goes on. It got to a point when he told me he is not going to send me solo and to head back. Thankfully that last circuit and landing was so swee that I am proud to have made it mine.

While preparing to taxi back, I apologized to him for cocking it up. He then told me, based on that last circuit, he will be sending me solo and I better make it as good as that circuit. I was shocked!

After dropping him off at the engine run-up bay, I taxiied out, made my radio calls (100% this time), no mistakes made during the circuit except that I went from flaps 0 to 20 in one action. There was a moonie in front of me and he made quite a wide circuit so apart from slowing down and watching him, there was nothing much different from other circuits.

Everything was superb till the landing.

There was a crosswind coming from the right; hence I cocked the aircraft nose to the right (we call it crabbing in). So during the flare, I applied opposite rudder, bringing the nose back to centre-line, cocked my right aileron to the wind from the right and continued holding off. A sudden gust of wind threw me off as my right wheel touched, it was dangerous! I quickly threw my controls to the opposite side and the the deflecting wind put me down on my other wheels. Phew! Sure made my heart jump!

"Sierra Yankee Hotel, congratulations on your first solo!", the friendly tower radioed as I was taxiing back to pick up my instructor.

"Thank you very much!", I went.

Nothing much eventful happened during the taxi back, except tower requested us to help find this Y X V who forgot to cancel his start-up approval.

"Get some beer, get drunk, get laid and keep that smile going", he grinned as he got off the aircraft.

My first solo - never will I forget this day.

****************************************************

Date: 20/04/2009
Name: Flyboy Johnny
Aircraft Registration: Victor Hotel - Sierra Yankee Hotel

Fuel: 190 litres
Endurance: 326 mins
Oil: 6.25 quarts
Hours remaining: 22.68 to phase 2
MR: Nil
Noted bald patches on port and starboard main wheels

Take off ground roll required: 1213ft or 370m
Take off distance required to 50ft: 2156ft or 657m

Landing ground roll required: 667ft or 203m
Landing distance required from 50ft: 1541ft or 470m

ATIS

Code: G
Rwy: 24
Wind: 270/10
X-wind: M8
VIS: 10km red smoke haze
Cloud: CAVOK
Temp: 27
QNH: 1011
Others: RVFR

METAR YPJT 200430Z AUTO 26006KT 9999 NDV // NCD 26/16 Q1012 RMK RF 00.0/000.0

TAF YPJT 200415Z 2006/2024 20010KT CAVOK FM201400 10008KT CAVOK RMK T 27 25 20 18 Q 1011 1011 1012 1011

Movie Review: Match Point (2005)

Before I begin my humble review of this thriller, I must mention that I am a big fan of gorgeous Scarlett Johansson. (Read: biased review coming up)

Scarlett plays Nora Rice, who is hitched to a rich scion of a tremendous family business and property, Tom Hewett. Enter the main protagonist of the film, Chris Wilton, played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who starts the film as Tom's tennis coach and ended up getting married to Tom's sister, Chloe. From a lowly tennis coach, he finds his social and financial luck improve vastly.

Chris got entangled with Nora in a web of betrayal and sex, each cheating on their own partners. The sexual tension between the two got so bad that they had to bone in a field in the middle of a thunderstorm. Lucky bastard.

Not that they don't bone anymore when they got to the city. They still do. Talk about taking time off work to do some "ball hitting". Not those kind of tennis balls, I guess.

So things didn't work out between Nora and Tom, and instead she got mixed up with Chris who was doing well in the family business and muddled his relationship with wife Chloe. Things came to a head when the affair threatens his newfound luxurious existence and he decided to take matters into his own hands, coming up with a devious plan.

Filmography wise, I thought the directorship of Woody Allen was excellent. Scenes not vital to the buildup of the characters were skipped fleetingly; you see Tom's father talking to Chris about taking up business courses and next scene, voila, Chris is sitting in an MBA class. The buildup of the story and the moving of the climax (no pun intended) was excellent.

The main protagonists in the film, mainly Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Scarlett Johansson, played up their roles to great aplomb. You can feel the sexual tension, the need to feel each other, the want and desire for each other. Other than cursing the lucky bastard for most of the show, I thought Jonathan Rhys Meyers displayed great humility in the beginning of the show, but someone whose intentions you can never be sure of. Towards the end, he has blossomed into a confident business partner, great at covering his tracks, displaying traits of a wonderful husband, etc. I thought he did a great job at morphing his character from a lowly tennis coach to an up-and-coming successor. Scarlett on the other hand, went from vixen to irritating-third-party but that's the way it should be.

But being a huge fan of Scarlett, I could never get enough of her. You mean, you could? I guess my only gripe about this movie is the limited airtime that Scarlett had (compared to The Nanny Diaries). Dang!

Throughout the movie, I could feel myself in the shoes of Chris, from the attraction to a beautiful girl (Nora) to the guilt of a philandering husband, to the desperation of a man down and out and the fear of a wanted criminal. Few movies could make me feel the main character as well as Match Point and I really applaud the effort.

Poignantly, Match Point drives the importance of luck in one's life, over effort and virtue. Two characters from similar backgrounds with such different outcomes. I thought the following monologue from the movie was so true:

People are afraid to face how great a part of life is dependent on luck. It's scary to think so much is out of one's control. There are moments in a match when the ball hits the top of the net and for a split second it can either go forward or fall back. With a little luck it goes forward and you win. Or maybe it doesn't and you lose.

Would you rather be lucky over good? I would.

What A Week

What a difference a day makes, once sang Jamie Cullum. I did think of him as a faggot once but it doesn't really matter now.

I haven't flew at all this entire week! It was kinda a wasted week but I did enjoy the breaks in the bunk, catching up on the Police Academy series and finishing the entire Taiwanese drama serial Corner With Love. The latter is a beautiful love story which I highly recommend to anyone, but the plot is a little too fairytale if you ask me.

I will be facing my solo checks next week and by the grace of God, I hope to be able to clear it by next week. Though I'm not flying regularly, the hours spent in the aircraft doing "mental flying" does help me quite a bit and strangely I feel more confident and at ease with it now.... until I get whacked again by my instructor. Till then, I'm really raring to go though a little part of me celebrated when the sorties got cancelled. Heh.

Easter's coming and we went for a penintential service on Wednesday evening. It's similar to what we have back home and it felt good to have made peace with the Lord. Churches here are very homely, very small communities and it seems that everyone knows everyone. An unfamiliar face (like mine) attracts lots of attention and my embarrassment starts when they find out the line of work I'm in, which I'm not too keen to divulge. I would rather people take me for who I am instead of what I do and I find it tiring to have to put up a professional front and have answer all their questions as if I'm in the front line of management. It's like being a celebrity; you have to wear that mask 24 hours non-stop and watch those uncrossing legs lest the paparazzi catch you not wearing any undies. I prefer it that when I'm out of uniform, hey, just take me as I am and as a typical bloke. Anyway just a few reflections here... hope it hasn't killed anyone yet. Heh.

Weather's turning a little chilly now and we borrowed a nice little heater from Uncle Pat and Aunt Agnes. Its been keeping us nice and snug at night when the wind assault is ferocious and chills you to the bone. I can't imagine how winter would be like! And those seconds between turning off your shower and reaching for your towel... that would be enough to make things shriver shiver. Shrugs!

Poem of a Flyboy

Got this off a fellow flyboy... how beautiful.

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew -
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.

Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee
No 412 squadron, RCAF
Killed 11 December 1941