The Repetition Summary Briefing
Again, it all starts on the ground. Today, my instructor starts with a whiteboard full of shortcuts. Every abbreviation stands for one exercise. It’s the full PPL(H) Training – the same as the Skill Test Programm – without navigation. During training I rarely took any notes, usually, I tried to directly memorize what he explained to me or just took pictures of his drawings.
During this brush-up we briefly talk about every exercise – I quickly tell him what I have to do. Most things I remember correctly but sometimes I miss a part. It is possibly one of the most intense briefings, 4hrs of full concentration.
So this time, I take notes about everything that does not spontaneously come to mind. Afterward, I merge those details and create my final notes to “pimp” the pictures in my brain. It’s not many, but from here I mentally rehearse them once a day until the Exam Flight. They accomplish the remaining 20% needed to fly all of the exercises really smoothly.
IN THE AIR
The next day we start to fly again. It’s more or less all about improving the accuracy and speed of completing the tasks.
– All exercises on the ground – spot turns, landing crosswind, flying backward, slope landings, quick stops, etc.
– All types of Autorotations from positive airspeed to extended range, including 360+ turn, etc.
– All types of limited power take-off & landings, especially running take-off & landing
– Power check, approaches & landing in confined areas, engine-off Landing etc.
– Practice forced landing incl. 5s, mayday call, pax-brief, touchdrills.
– Instrument flying – Rate 1 turns in the climb, 30° angle of bank turns, recovering from unusual flight position, etc.
Of course, we focus on the more difficult ones or the ones I did not fly for a while. But it’s basically everything. All together in two flights. Including a special eye on verbalizing everything correctly and not forgetting anything.
Exam-Mockup-Flight with Chief Instructor
Now we come to the last flight before I will fly the final PPL Skill Test. It is split into two parts.
1st Navigation then 2nd different exercises. Same as the real exam flight.
It’s actually quite funny as my very first flight (the trial lesson) was with him, Captain Toby Chamberlain. We did not fly together until my first solo flight. Here, we flew some circuits before he would climb out & clear me to fly alone.
And now we are sitting here and fly into the sky for the mock flight exam. What a milestone. We have a good flight, talk a lot and I am really happy about my progression. There is always something of course but no major failure and remarkable improvements in accuracy thanks to the final fine-tuning flights with my instructor.
Toby gives me some further tips but is happy too and thinks I am ready. He finishes the debrief with the quote.
“We cannot expect perfection but we want to make sure that you are safe to learn to fly afterward”.
