25 July 2011

Solo Night Nav

One of the requirements for a CPL is 5hrs solo night flying. Included in that must be a night x-country of at least 150nm. So it’s quite similar to getting a night rating, the only difference being that you must fly solo.

I had hoped to do this nav last week when we had a full moon, but unfortunately I discovered that one of the aircraft’s nav lights wasn’t working, and I had to cancel the flight. I wasn’t too impressed because it was a perfect evening.

But then I had the bright idea of doing the nav on Saturday morning, at about 5am. This meant waking up at 0330. I’m not a morning person, but all I can say is that the early wake up was worth it! At about 0330 I got up and called the weather office. I tried my best to sound awake, but I don’t think it worked. There wasn’t any fog or clouds, but the wind was strong; 160 degrees, 15kts gusting 35kts.

It was dark, and while the wind was blowing in Cape Town, the airfield was still, calm and quiet. Until I fired up POV, a trusty 152. Taking off into the night sky was wonderful, and I turned west to route to Cape Town. This was the first time I’d be flying in controlled airspace by myself, and I was nervous.



But I picked the right time to fly, and soon after making contact I was “Cleared left base runway 19. You’re number one.” I somehow managed to remember my squawk code and I got my read backs correct. Seeing the array of lights at Cape Town is always amazing, but it can also be confusing (last time I flew there at night I thought I was aiming for the runway, but it was actually a fence with lights on), but I got it right this time, and I enjoyed having PAPI’s.

After my touch-and-go I was told to route to the old cooling towers (which no longer exist). I wasn’t entirely sure where they were, so I just followed the N2. Once I thought I was near where the towers used to be, I routed north. The Controller jokingly said “Wow, I’ve never seen a 152 go that fast before!” I couldn’t help but laugh. (I had about a 30kt tailwind)

I was told to broadcast TIBA and continue on my merry way. Flying around Cape Town is extremely pleasant when it’s quiet, and I’ve found that the controllers have been very accommodating.

After that I routed to Saldanha. It was turbulent around Table View, but once I passed Atlantis it was smooth sailing. There was only a light breeze at Saldanha. I flew directly overhead the field without realising it. I then managed to put myself on right downwind for runway 20. That’s what happens when you don’t pay attention.



I then routed to Saron, a little town about 50nm from Saldahna, and just north of Porterville. I don’t know how, but I had a bit of a tailwind going there. I was about halfway to Saron when the sun started to rise, the mountains silhouetted against the sky. By the time I got to Saron there was an orange glow on the horizon.



It was when I was routing back to Stellenbosch that the sky was orange, yellow, light blue and dark blue, and my camera died. The wind was strong in the Tulbagh area, but I still had a tailwind, and I’m not sure how that worked out. But I’m not complaining.

As I passed Klapmuts, the wind died down completely. The weather in this area is quite amazing. By the time I had landed and put the aircraft back in the hanger, the sun was rising above the mountains, warming everything up and I just stood there and defrosted.

So despite the early wake up, and the fear of flying into controlled airspace by myself, the flight went well. I think that everyone should do at least one early morning flight because seeing the sunrise while sitting at 3500ft is an amazing experience.

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