NZFF

Today's flight started out like any other flight with my local Aero club.
Just a few touch and go circuits on grass 25. After about 4 circuits
my instructor told me to make a full stop this time. I thought this was pretty standard as we had been up there for quite a while. As I taxied back to the club house my instructor told me that he was going to get out and let me do a few circuits by myself, his final words were "If anything goes sideways go around".

I taxied over to hold cone Echo 1 and called ready. The Tower cleared me to backtrack to the marker boards and hold. I seemed take forever to get my takeoff clearance. "Echo Juliet Zulu. Remain in the circuit, Cleared for takeoff". 1-2-3 full power. I began to speed down the runway at 45 Knots I began to rotate. 400ft flaps up and land light off. At 700ft I began my turn to the crosswind leg. At 1200ft I turned on to my downwind leg. The controller cleared me to land after a Katana on Short Finals. I began to slow my bird down and put 10 degrees flap down and turn on to the base leg. I was looking pretty good so chucked down another 10 degrees of flap and began my turn on to finals. At 65kt I put down another 10 degrees of flap. Everything was looking good resulting in one of my better landings.

Congrats on your first solo Mike .

Alex

Well done Mike, what were you flying?

congratulations. If it was me, I wouldve stuffed up so bad because Im no good at life and death situations when Im under pressure
i too wonder what you were flying

what were you flying?

I was flying a cessna A152, Rego ZK-EJZ. Its a nice little plane but its due for retirement.

The FS version below:

very nice mate

Well done dude, I'm looking forward to my first solo too!

Congratulations Mike on your first solo- I aim to be in your position in about 8 month's time!

The co-founder of NZFF, Jarred (aka NZ1) also took a few flights in EJZ. Where you at Hamilton International doing your circuits or Ardmore?



If you where at NZHN, then you might recall a male voice on the ATC. That would have been Mike Slack, the guy who took me up in the Pitts on Wednesday. Small world innit?

Congrats Mike,Well done I can still remember the feeling when I first went solo over 40 years ago,heck it may have been 45 years,also like you it was a 150,great little training aircraft.Are you going for your ppl or cpl.best of luck which ever it is.

Hi Guy's

Thanks for all the supportive comments.

Where you at Hamilton International doing your circuits or Ardmore?

I was at NZHN. Mike Slack wasn't my controller on that flight, but I meet on a field trip to the Tower with my Air Law night class.

Are you going for your ppl or cpl.

Hopefully all the way to CPL

Trolly, are you gonna get started flying too?

congrats...

i can guarantee, that you will be able to tell that story (word for word) anytime in the future... its something you never forget...

Its quite a cool (and scary as hell) feeling the first time you look over to the right and dont have to try and look around an instructor

MBG (Massey Aviation, PA-28) was my first... way back in May 2000... i was reading in the last Vector mag that some Massey student put it down in a paddock and through a fence sometime in 2003 i think

good work, and hope you make it all the way to the CPL... I would love to, but think that at 30+ I am a little old to make a career in aviation...

Trolly, are you gonna get started flying too?

Hopefully I will get my PPL when I finish High School next year

I remember my first trial flight at mystery creek just over the road from NZHN it was in a Robbie R22 pilot tried to scare me by playing chicken with a tree lol nearly cr@pped myself when he yelled "pull the collective NOW" and the whole take the controls I have sun screen on my hands and cant keep control of the chopper lol I have never looked back since that flight I wouldnt wanna do anything other than flying.

Good on ya Mike also what day was your solo was it during the week or on a weekend I was chopper/plane spotting out at NZHN about a week ago maybe a bit more and heard ZK-EJZ flying over doing circuits around 2 in the afternoon.