Flight Log: {005}

The flight training continues, with some of these sorties being “dual operated” by both an instructor of mine and myself, and then some operated “solo” by me alone. At this point in my flying career, solo flying, was still some of the scariest, yet rewarding hours of my life. With each flight, however, I gained more and more experience, thereby increasing the confidence levels in my flying abilities. It is something that takes time and plenty of hours (both in the air and on the ground) of one's undivided attention and dedication, in order to progress through. Each of these sorties included a dual flight first, with one of my flight instructors, starting with a detailed pre-flight briefing on the ground. In these briefings the specific maneuvers were discussed and demonstrated to me in detail in the briefing room. We would then head out to the flight deck, start up one of the machines, and set our heading for the general flight training area. Here my instructor would demonstrate the maneuvers to me practically first, followed by me taking the sticks and trying it out for myself. When I obtained proficiency in the set of maneuvers for the day, we would return to base and then debrief, going through all the relevant details of the flight in detail. Next step was my turn, to climb back into the machine, this time solo, and consolidate the flight training, by practicing and perfecting my flight skills, on my own. All of my flying at this point, was still conducted on the Robinson R22 Beta I and Beta II helicopter models. Getting to know how the different machines behave and perform, was also a privilege and education to experience. Each aircraft, be it helicopter or aeroplane, has its own personality, behaving and acting in its own particular way. Although it does a young pilot good, to experience and adapt to the differences felt in each individual aircraft, one does start to develop a bond with your favourite machine, flying as much time in her, as you possibly can. The machines displayed in these images are ZS-REW (Romeo-Echo-Whisky) and ZS-RMZ (Romeo-Mike-Zulu) respectively. A shout out to the instructors involved here as well, Mr Tony Browne and Mr Solo van Rooyen.