Cleared For Departure

Yesterday was a beautiful autumnal day, and following fog and poor visibility in the morning, I knew that any activity at Dunkeswell was going to be happening from midday onwards. So, with my LAPL Medical Certificate and Log Book in hand, my wife, daughter and I made our way up to the aerodrome. While lunching in ‘The Aviator‘ cafe, we had a wonderful view of Runway 05/23 and were able to watch a number of student and private aircraft land and take to the skies. We were also treated to a constant stream of brave souls going up and back down again on parachute drops – I’m regretting not having taken my camera now. I will snap some photos at a later date though and post them up here.

Following lunch, I went into the office to discuss my flight training. I have to say, the staff at Devon & Somerset Flight Training are really friendly and helpful. An unhurried discussion was had concerning the training syllabus, requirements, timescales, a number of other important considerations and several questions I had were explained in detail. After reviewing how best to proceed, I have booked my first lesson for 3 November 2016. While I would have liked to have started sooner, current work commitments prevent it, although my plan is to try and have a lesson at least once a week, prefereably every Thursday.

I have purchased my first two training manuals… 1: Flying Training and 2: Aviation Law/Meterology and need to start reading those in preparation for both my lessons and my first exams. I have also purchased a 1:500,000 aeronautical chart that covers the south of England and Wales, as it is a legal requirement that every pilot has one in the aircraft when flying. These are updated every March and therefore need to be replaced each year.

So that’s it, the first steps have been taken. Roll on the 3rd November!

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