Clench Common is a great first landaway Ben - Graham Slater is a true gentleman. Like your instructor said if you can land there you can handle anywhere. Well done and keep up the great videos!
Byron in The Clouds - shame the wind has really picked up. And the viz here is awful today! On SkyDemon it warns severe turbulence forecast for wales. Crazy. Hope you get up again soon
Had the good fortune to fly there last week at Clence and what a great little airfield to learn to fly at and a very friendly team of instructors. Highly recommended.
Not easy without a GPS. My dad used to make me look at the ground/map pre GPS days. Things would have been a bit more challenging when Lynham & Wroughton were active, although Lynham would sometimes give a vector. I see Oaksey is still active too? Ive navigated that trip, to Draycott and Thruxton - my eyes glazed over after awhile and even more work, for you, when flying too. You did well in the end though, its all about the learning and experience. In the early days of flight, aviators followed the railway lines, there's motorways now too LOL! That pollution/clag is worse now, I only see it from the ground these days, worse than the 1980s and 1990s, especially over the countryside, I'd sometimes seen it over towns/cities from the air. Bit of a shocker for the nearly 8billion of us that live on this blue sphere. When qualified, will you only be able to get up to 3000ft?? Clench is small, but getting a Cessna 152/Jodel/Luscombe into a farm strip near Lechlade with a tributary at one end and cows, plus trees at the other, is smaller. Or with dad flying into an up hill strip, in a valley between trees near Highclare, or a farm strip under a motor way bridge - makes my palms sweaty thinking about it, dad didn't used to bat an eyelid, cheap hangerage LOL! BTW, on a lighter note, do you find the Skyranger Swift as easy or easier to fly than the C42??
Muso Seven - thanks for commenting! Yeh Oakley is still active. And a lovely looking place to fly into. It’s almost a shame it’s SO close to Kemble! Less of a reason to fly in. No, there’s technically no height limit - but much above 5,000ft near bristol and you’re in their cta - and above 10,000 you need oxygen! I’ve flown up to 5,250ft to get into smooth/clear air before. I didn’t fly Kemble’s c42 in the end. I have flown one (not on video) before I really got into it so it’s not a fair comparison. Though I can say the rudder is hard to get right in the 100hp skyranger with it’s shorter fuselage. By the viz in the c42 is nowhere near as good.
Ben Atkinson , thanks, looks like you need those heights these days to get above the clag! Sounds like your having fun, farm strip flying can be fun, testing, yet also strangely relaxing. IIRC Oaksey is where they filmed 'Piece of Cake', a fav of mine, certainly it was filmed at Charlton Park and IIRC they also filmed at South Cerney too. Thanks for getting back to me. Edit:- Apologies, my dodgy memory, although, scarily it was filmed thirty years ago circa 1988, Piece of Cake was filmed at Charlton Park (which masqueraded as a French airfield in the BEFs 'Battle of France'), lots of lovely Spitfires. And before anyone else pipes up (LOL!), yes, technically they should have been Hurricanes during the Battle of France. Also in Derek Robinson's novel, on which the TV series was based, had Hurricanes, but there weren't enough restored examples in 1988. BTW I'm not a pendant and I loved the series. Back on topic!
Hey Nigel - pleasure. A couple people had asked I cover some theory - I am no expert but will explain some parts as best as I can. Cheers for watching! Ben
Great video - triangle of velocities , what a nightmare that was for me , cracked it in the end , at least an APP exists now to work that stuff out :-). Surprised the instructor didn't let you use a map in flight . When I did my Navex with instructor(s) we both had maps and he was making sure I was looking at a map and cross referencing with what I could see all the time. Helps if you orientate the map in the direction you are travelling
Andrew Martin - oh he let me use it I was just cheeky and asked him to hold it - using what I had around me haha. But yeh totally agree triangles of velocities are ok once you get them I guess! Oddly, I actually prefer the map to be north facing, bizarrely! Thanks for watching Andrew. How’s your flying?
I feel your pain on forgetting to change QNH. On my last flight, just as we were doing our inbound checks, I was distracted by some unusual event on the radio. We ran through the check, and even discussed what QFE to use, but I didn't go on to set it. We entered the overhead ~180' too low and it wasn't until downwind that I noticed it. Lesson learned!
As I said on Instagram, an excellent video Ben. I remember getting myself in a raffle on Nav Ex trips. Trying to juggle the flying, Radio and the map reading isn’t easy to begin with. Your explanation of the triangle of velocities at the end was great too. 👍
Clench isn't easy to spot. I have been flying from there for 18 months and still can't pick it out sometimes on the way in! The circuit height at Clench is actually 500ft. Being used to this, 1000ft circuits at bigger airfields tend to catch me out as I am always too high on final.
Hi, great video! Noticed you had the little bungee connected to the cable (top right) Do you need this if you’ve got a passenger? I thought this was for flying solo to counteract the missing passenger weight.
K R - hey! Thanks 👍 it’s always been in the plane whenever I’ve flown. As far as I know it’s only a cable for ailerons. No sure why it’s not on both sides? No idea !! Sorry I wasn’t very useful there
The bungee is usually to counteract the absence of a passenger so if your dual then you would need to use it, Check with your instructor just in case it makes you out of balance if two up, My instructor taught me to have it slack if 2 up and use it if solo.
@@BenAtkinsonVideos Yep it does help, certainly with the concept of coordination/balance. I primarily fly large RC helis (like you, I've not flown in a while) and the rudder use is critical there. A big help, and another amazing hobby :)
dai power - it’s on a MacBook - but yeh it’s iOS rather than android. Try FilmoraGo or Adobe Premier Pro or Clip, think clip is the cheaper / free version! Just checking out of some your flexwing stuff. Awesome
Cheers. Check out Spamfield 2014, viz was really bad but look at where I face the gopro forward, that is mid point on the Bristol Channel so couldn't see either coast. Wont make that mistake again.
Clench Common is a great first landaway Ben - Graham Slater is a true gentleman. Like your instructor said if you can land there you can handle anywhere. Well done and keep up the great videos!
Jason R Wilkinson - yeh I met Graham, seemed like a top bloke. Thanks for watching!
Great video Ben....enjoyed watching & learning!
Excellent Ben , looking forward to part two, just what I needed as my lesson was cancelled this morning.
Byron in The Clouds - shame the wind has really picked up. And the viz here is awful today! On SkyDemon it warns severe turbulence forecast for wales. Crazy. Hope you get up again soon
@@BenAtkinsonVideos heading up Wednesday and Thursday morning now hopefully, let's hope the weather stays good.
Had the good fortune to fly there last week at Clence and what a great little airfield to learn to fly at and a very friendly team of instructors. Highly recommended.
Not easy without a GPS. My dad used to make me look at the ground/map pre GPS days. Things would have been a bit more challenging when Lynham & Wroughton were active, although Lynham would sometimes give a vector. I see Oaksey is still active too? Ive navigated that trip, to Draycott and Thruxton - my eyes glazed over after awhile and even more work, for you, when flying too. You did well in the end though, its all about the learning and experience. In the early days of flight, aviators followed the railway lines, there's motorways now too LOL!
That pollution/clag is worse now, I only see it from the ground these days, worse than the 1980s and 1990s, especially over the countryside, I'd sometimes seen it over towns/cities from the air. Bit of a shocker for the nearly 8billion of us that live on this blue sphere. When qualified, will you only be able to get up to 3000ft??
Clench is small, but getting a Cessna 152/Jodel/Luscombe into a farm strip near Lechlade with a tributary at one end and cows, plus trees at the other, is smaller. Or with dad flying into an up hill strip, in a valley between trees near Highclare, or a farm strip under a motor way bridge - makes my palms sweaty thinking about it, dad didn't used to bat an eyelid, cheap hangerage LOL!
BTW, on a lighter note, do you find the Skyranger Swift as easy or easier to fly than the C42??
Muso Seven - thanks for commenting! Yeh Oakley is still active. And a lovely looking place to fly into. It’s almost a shame it’s SO close to Kemble! Less of a reason to fly in. No, there’s technically no height limit - but much above 5,000ft near bristol and you’re in their cta - and above 10,000 you need oxygen! I’ve flown up to 5,250ft to get into smooth/clear air before. I didn’t fly Kemble’s c42 in the end. I have flown one (not on video) before I really got into it so it’s not a fair comparison. Though I can say the rudder is hard to get right in the 100hp skyranger with it’s shorter fuselage. By the viz in the c42 is nowhere near as good.
Ben Atkinson , thanks, looks like you need those heights these days to get above the clag! Sounds like your having fun, farm strip flying can be fun, testing, yet also strangely relaxing. IIRC Oaksey is where they filmed 'Piece of Cake', a fav of mine, certainly it was filmed at Charlton Park and IIRC they also filmed at South Cerney too. Thanks for getting back to me.
Edit:- Apologies, my dodgy memory, although, scarily it was filmed thirty years ago circa 1988, Piece of Cake was filmed at Charlton Park (which masqueraded as a French airfield in the BEFs 'Battle of France'), lots of lovely Spitfires. And before anyone else pipes up (LOL!), yes, technically they should have been Hurricanes during the Battle of France. Also in Derek Robinson's novel, on which the TV series was based, had Hurricanes, but there weren't enough restored examples in 1988. BTW I'm not a pendant and I loved the series. Back on topic!
Another great video Ben, clench is on my list to visit
Awesome. A lot to take in flying Nav with the map. Good for you to get that short field practice in so you can land at my local field sometime 😬😀👌🏻✈️
JP Hughes - yeh you’re right there!! Absolutely haha....need to be more accurate on that centre at yours ha!
Great Video Ben.
Thanks for the “techie stuff” at the end too.
Nigel
Hey Nigel - pleasure. A couple people had asked I cover some theory - I am no expert but will explain some parts as best as I can. Cheers for watching! Ben
Cheers Ben.
Looking forward to the next part of your journey!!
Happy Flying.
Nigel
Oh, and a tip from my 'old-school' instructor: a thumbs width on a 1:500,000 map is 5 minutes of flight, give or take (with most microlights) :)
ForFunFlyer - ahhh interesting tip! Thanks for watching dude 👏
@@BenAtkinsonVideos You're welcome!
Great video - triangle of velocities , what a nightmare that was for me , cracked it in the end , at least an APP exists now to work that stuff out :-). Surprised the instructor didn't let you use a map in flight . When I did my Navex with instructor(s) we both had maps and he was making sure I was looking at a map and cross referencing with what I could see all the time. Helps if you orientate the map in the direction you are travelling
Andrew Martin - oh he let me use it I was just cheeky and asked him to hold it - using what I had around me haha. But yeh totally agree triangles of velocities are ok once you get them I guess! Oddly, I actually prefer the map to be north facing, bizarrely! Thanks for watching Andrew. How’s your flying?
Flying's okay , fly a club C42 out of Barton since 2015. The Skyranger looks great in the videos.
Really enjoying watching your adventures, I fly out of kemble with F.F.F. in flex wing microlight.
I feel your pain on forgetting to change QNH. On my last flight, just as we were doing our inbound checks, I was distracted by some unusual event on the radio. We ran through the check, and even discussed what QFE to use, but I didn't go on to set it. We entered the overhead ~180' too low and it wasn't until downwind that I noticed it. Lesson learned!
As I said on Instagram, an excellent video Ben. I remember getting myself in a raffle on Nav Ex trips. Trying to juggle the flying, Radio and the map reading isn’t easy to begin with. Your explanation of the triangle of velocities at the end was great too. 👍
Clench isn't easy to spot. I have been flying from there for 18 months and still can't pick it out sometimes on the way in! The circuit height at Clench is actually 500ft. Being used to this, 1000ft circuits at bigger airfields tend to catch me out as I am always too high on final.
Lol, I had to hold my own map and Navigate on dual Nav!
bulleteer55 - you don’t ask you don’t get 😂 and obviously I’m yet to prove myself solo nav’ing!
@@BenAtkinsonVideos - Ben, I love your videos and have a Skyranger myself. keep up the videos and do persevere, as its all worth it in the end!
@@markharper5762 Thanks Mark - will do...not too far off now...
Hi, great video! Noticed you had the little bungee connected to the cable (top right) Do you need this if you’ve got a passenger?
I thought this was for flying solo to counteract the missing passenger weight.
K R - hey! Thanks 👍 it’s always been in the plane whenever I’ve flown. As far as I know it’s only a cable for ailerons. No sure why it’s not on both sides? No idea !! Sorry I wasn’t very useful there
The bungee is usually to counteract the absence of a passenger so if your dual then you would need to use it,
Check with your instructor just in case it makes you out of balance if two up,
My instructor taught me to have it slack if 2 up and use it if solo.
Do you fly R/C too? Kewl! :) Great vid, again! B)
ForFunFlyer - not so much now but yes absolutely! Helped me learn much quicker I think 👍
@@BenAtkinsonVideos Yes, it helps a lot! They should include R/C flying in the syllabus, right? ;)
@@BenAtkinsonVideos Yep it does help, certainly with the concept of coordination/balance. I primarily fly large RC helis (like you, I've not flown in a while) and the rudder use is critical there. A big help, and another amazing hobby :)
What video software are you using?
Bog standard iMovie! 👍
@@BenAtkinsonVideos is that just for iPad as I am on android?
dai power - it’s on a MacBook - but yeh it’s iOS rather than android. Try FilmoraGo or Adobe Premier Pro or Clip, think clip is the cheaper / free version! Just checking out of some your flexwing stuff. Awesome
Cheers. Check out Spamfield 2014, viz was really bad but look at where I face the gopro forward, that is mid point on the Bristol Channel so couldn't see either coast. Wont make that mistake again.