February 2023 - Rich Stokoe

Learning to Fly: Lesson Lucky 13?

Posted on February 26, 2023July 11, 2023 by rich

Checking the weather in the days before this lesson I was 50/50 whether I would be taking off at all. Wind was showing as 14 knots (16mph) gusting to 26 knots (30mph) all week. When I got to airfield the cloudbases were at 2,500ft and the wind was a steady 12 knots but heading straight […]

Learning to Fly: Lesson 12

Posted on February 19, 2023July 11, 2023 by rich

This was the lesson I’ve been waiting for ever since I decided to learn to fly: Circuits. The lesson the day before had completed the first page of my Pooleys flying log book and I took a moment to reminisce about the aircraft I’d already had the pleasure of flying. I’d started my flight training […]

Learning to Fly: Lesson 11

Posted on February 19, 2023July 11, 2023 by rich

After my ego (and nerves!) had taken a comprehensive battering at the previous lesson my mindset had shifted from “I’m here to show the instructor I already know what I’m doing” to “I’m here to learn”. For any students out there, as soon as you stop learning you’re in trouble. We briefed quickly at the […]

Learning to Fly: Lesson 10

Posted on February 7, 2023July 11, 2023 by rich

I’ve mentioned before that pride comes before a fall. Today proved this once again: this was a frustrating and disappointing lesson. The Pride Driving up to the airfield today I was in a buoyant mood. The music on the radio was energetic and positive, and I knew today would either be another revision lesson or […]