After just over 4 months since my last flying lesson I’m resuming my navigation training, this time with a solo navigation to historic Durham City.
I brought the GoPro with me so you can join me on this flight from Eshott in Northumberland to Durham and back, through the controlled Class D airspace of Newcastle International Airport – a busy airport ramping up activity for the summer holiday season.
Like last lesson, I would be flying the following route:
- Morpeth Railway Station Visual Reporting Point (VRP) – shown in the middle at the top of the map below
- Tyne Bridges
- Durham City (just out of view to the south of the picture)
- and back again.
After briefing with the instructor and going through my planning, the first major challenge was to find the aircraft!
“It’s over by maintenance,” hinted the instructor. I hadn’t been to maintenance before so left the clubhouse to find it, dragging a bag of navigation supplies with me.
Along the way I found an ex-RAF Chipmunk (“Chippie”) resting between the hangars.
And finally I found my bird, UJ, in front of an open hangar, and missing the conical spinner off the front of her propeller. (Not required, just a change from last time I saw her).
It was a busy day at the airfield, with lots of movements, but in between the traffic I managed to do a couple of proving circuits with the instructor ahead of doing my solo navigation.
Finally, let loose in the 1968 Cessna-Reims F150H by myself. Let’s jump into the cockpit: