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“Contact” Well another 3 months have flown by, if you will excuse the pun, so it is time for another newsletter. If you have been hibernating through the winter and avoiding the unpredictable weather then there are some changes to the Club you will notice next time you are here, as well as changes to Southend Airport as a whole, which I’ll explain later. Thanks to lots of hard work from Lewis Cole, we are most of the way through fitting a new luxury kitchen complete with soft close doors – very posh. Once finished it will really improve the feel of the building. These pictures show before and currently, with just some finishing and paiting to go.
Above: The kitchen served well for nearly 30 years. Right: As it is now looking very modern. We have also had several large trees either removed or trimmed back in order to tidy up the back area and get some more light in the building. We just need to finish this off by getting a skip to remove all the old rubbish left from the building works. The final update is that we have finally managed to find a new Cessna 152 to replace GBGAF. Whilst not an aerobat, it is in good condition and is just being repainted. It should be here by the end of June.
Congratulations Dylan Mahmut – Private Pilot’s Licence & night rating Alex Reynier – Night rating Jonathon Cook - Private Pilot’s Licence Charlie Carlton – Qualifying Cross country Ben Hutchens - Qualifying Cross country 1
Southend Class D Airspace The Radio Mandatory Zone (RMZ) imposed around Southend in July 2014 has been replaced with a much larger and more complicated series of Class D airspace zones as of April 2015. In fairness this was no surprise as the RMZ was really a stopgap measure whilst the Class D was negotiated. It also didn’t help the case when the CAA reviewed the number of people who ignored the RMZ in the short period it was there!
Change #1 The first minor change is that ATC expect you to book out over the phone for all flights now, they will generally ask you your route and desired altitude as you leave the zone. If you are landing away five them an ETA for your return. If you haven’t decided then make sure you call the tower before you set off on your return leg. Also remember you are duty bound to inform ATC if you are going to be more than 45 minutes later than the ETA, because they will initiate overdue action at that point.
Change #2 Generally you should plan to leave the zone on track to one of the VRP’s on the chart, but don’t plan to fly against the landing traffic on final as that is not likely to be approved. They prefer you to go at 1500’ but you can negotiate that depending on traffic. This is the new airspace layout and it is show on the current 1:500k map, so make sure you have one.
Change #3 Once at the hold you will be given a clearance. This is not the take-off clearance as that should be given separately. Be prepared to write it down and read it back because they will not clear you to take-off until you have read it back correctly. Make sure you understand what you are expected to do.
For those of us who haven’t looked at the air law book for more years than we care to admit, it would be prudent to review the implications of this here.
“in most ways it is situation normal”
Change #4
The most important thing to note is that in most ways it is situation normal with regards to the way we have always operated at Southend.
You must obtain a clearance to enter any of the zones. Make sure you give Southend an early call so they have time to organise themselves, otherwise you must hold outside the zone until you get the clearance. Again be prepared to write it down and read it back because you should not enter until you have read it back correctly.
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Southend Class D Airspace Change #5
No Change #2
VMC minima is different in Class D. The visibility must be 5km or more and if you are above 3000’ you must be 1000’ vertically and 1500m laterally from cloud to be able to maintain VFR. If you are not VFR then you must be IFR, so you must hold an IMC rating and be flying on an IFR clearance. If you are below 3000’ then you only need to be clear of cloud and in sight of the surface, so this remains as per normal. If you cleared level or route will mean you cannot maintain VMC then you must request a new clearance clearly explaining why. Regardless of this don’t go into cloud unless you are qualified, you can always sort out the clearances later.
Don’t panic if the radio fails outside the zone, as you have already called them with you ETA they will be roughly expecting you. ATC have said we are to squawk 7600, route to the chimney in Rochford and circle at 1500’ until the green light is displayed. Try and avoid getting in the way of the approaches – route towards the airfield at 90 degrees to the runway. If you have to cross final approach from the south have a very good look out.
Change #6 Special VFR can be issued to allow flight in the zone when the conditions are marginal. You have to ask if is sensible to try and be VFR in these conditions. Southend will issue you a special VFR clearance into the CTR down to a cloud base of 600’ and visibility of 1500m. Regardless of this Southend will not issue a VFR clearance at night if the cloud base is less than 1500’.
If you get this close because you didn’t look up final approach, then squawking 7600 probably won’t make much difference.
No Change #1 In Class D airspace VFR traffic is not formally separated from other VFR, so you are still required to see and avoid yourself. If that means breaking off from your cleared route don’t worry; just tell ATC what you are doing.
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FORCED LANDINGS A forced landing is something that is practiced in every PPL skills test and renewal. It is fortunately very rare other than this, but it is something that everyone should be keeping current with just in case. I’ll go through the way I teach it but I do realise there are other methods out there that can be just as effective.
than slope for instance. If you can’t remember the wind direction then look for clues around you such as smoke or waves on lakes. If all else fails land in the direction you took off from, at least it won’t be a tail wind.
Glide speed
If you have enough altitude plan to fly a mini circuit around your field. If you are less than 2500’ then turn downwind initially and pick a field that is between the leading edge and the nose.
Make a plan
Trim for the best glide speed. This is probably the single most important thing you can do. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau conducted a study into engine failures over a 10 year period. One of the most important findings was “actions taken by the pilot do not necessarily affect the final outcome, what is more important is that the primary focus be on maintaining airspeed to prevent stalling”.
Problem solve Be honest with yourself: How familiar are you with the checks required to restart an engine in flight or shut it down if it becomes clear it will not restart? Working left to right across the cockpit is normally easier to remember than the exact order of the checklist but it is still important to cover everything. Next time you are at the club why not sit in the aircraft and run through the checks? It costs you nothing and may get the aircraft running again.
Select a landing site Consider the altitude and select a landing site that is suitable and into wind. Don’t be too fussy – time is of the essence, but size and wind direction are probably more important
Any of the fields would be in range from 2000’ feet, you just have to plan a circuit.
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of trees or hitting them at 75kts, I know what I’d do.
Low key point The single most important point in the pattern is the low key point. This is where you turn from a downwind heading to a base leg. Aim to turn at 1000’ft or when the centre of your field is in the 8 o’clock position, whichever comes first. On a windy day you go shooting downwind and reach 8 o’clock but will be above 1000’, when you turn back into wind the height will drop off quickly. On a calm day you will take longer to go downwind and will reach 1000’ before the 8 o’clock position.
Slip & weave Most of the forced landings I see practiced end with the pilot trying to tell me that we will make the field from a short final position at about 500’. The reality is that the majority would touch down long and go through the hedge at a fair speed. On the plus side it would be entirely survivable, but it would be nice to see a better judgement of the glide. Remember if the point you are aiming at doesn’t move you will hit it, if it slowly sinks under the nose the you will overshoot. The easiest way to loose height quickly is to weave the aircraft leaft and right. Aim for 30° of bank and maintain balance and airspeed. As the lift vector is well offset height is lost very fast, but can be stopped by simply rolling wings level. Closer to the ground apply rudder and opposite aileron but watch your airspeed and straighten up before touchdown.
The low key point is where it all matters.
Base & final On the base leg it becomes clearer what the effect of the wind is. If you see you are being blown away from the field then cut the corner and land diagonally. If it is looking ok then turn final and make an approach to the field. Each stage of flap you set will bring your landing point closer to the start of the field. Be careful as the last stage makes the most difference. Ignore the stupid rule of thumb about not retracting flap once it is set. If it makes the difference between clearing a row 5
Safety Corner We haven’t had any safety issues since the last newsletter, which is a good thing, but don’t forget that if you do see anything that you think could be unsafe then please report it using the SMS form. You can do it anonymously if you prefer. This time of year Thunderstorms become more common. Remember active thunderstorms are a dangerous hazard to flight and should be avoided by a good margin; - at least 10nm. Even just heavy rain showers need a wide berth. A cumulonimbus such as this one can have extreme turbulence, microbursts, hail, icing, lightning, gust fronts and heavy rain with reduced visibility. Some of these phenomena will be present well away from the cloud itself – Avoid.
Emergency of the month Not an emergency this one but very much a safety issue. If you are following the check lists correctly you will check the magnetos once after start, once during the power checks and once just before shutting down. Do you know why you do that and what the consequences would be of not checking the magnetos before shut down? If you don’t know you’d better look it up in the aircraft technical book or ask us.
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