February 11, 2011 - Burlington Airpark
My last flight before Honduras we flew to Burlington with Lari to practise Nav skills as well as circuits at a different aerodrome. It turned out to be a bit of a lesson in human factors, due to the fact that I had only had about four hours of sleep the night before.
I definately noticed a difference in my ability to be able to take in and synthesize information. More recently, my ability to stay at a certain altitude had been getting better, and I was starting to show signs of knowing what to do without Lari telling me every little step. But on way too little sleep, I reverted to total stupidity, over-thinking everything, or conversely, forgetting to think about the most obvious things (like turning off the carb heat when doing a touch-and-go!)
Nevertheless, I was able to find my way to Burlington from City Centre, interpreting various squiggles and markings on the chart (but requiring constant confirmation from the ever-patient Lari).
I definately noticed a difference in my ability to be able to take in and synthesize information. More recently, my ability to stay at a certain altitude had been getting better, and I was starting to show signs of knowing what to do without Lari telling me every little step. But on way too little sleep, I reverted to total stupidity, over-thinking everything, or conversely, forgetting to think about the most obvious things (like turning off the carb heat when doing a touch-and-go!)
Nevertheless, I was able to find my way to Burlington from City Centre, interpreting various squiggles and markings on the chart (but requiring constant confirmation from the ever-patient Lari).
Something that really surprised me is how "suddenly" things appear. For example, I was hunting around for the field after finally locating the train track I was planning to follow up there, when all of a sudden, there it was on my left!! I seem to have a hard time transforming diagrams and charts into the "reality" of the actual landscape from the air. Doubtless things would be slightly easier to discern in summer, when not everything is covered in snow, but in general, everything looks the same to me -- the whole "birds eye view" thing is interesting. Gives me a real sense of what is possible in the expression "the big picture". Now I really get it. But back to flying. So, it was a pretty wicked crosswind, at least for a newer pilot like me, and combined with the soupy weather and amount of wind, it was a little challenging. Nevertheless, I managed to pull off one pretty good, and one acceptable landing, along with the not-great one I am more known for. :P We stopped briefly to get a snack and use the washroom, but we had to head out again pretty quickly, as weather was approaching, light snow, but enough to significantly enough impede visibility. Going home was easier; just head south until you hit the lake, and then follow the shoreline back to CYTZ. |
Flying at Burlington confirmed for me once again how much I rely on land/water features at City, rather than aligning myself with the runway and using the "big ideas" of the circuit to fly properly. Oh well, I guess practise will make... er... "better".