So one month after CPL, I am almost halfway through my Instrument Rating at CTC's facility in Bournemouth. The course is allocated eight weeks for completion but is frequently completed in around five as the majority of it is based in simulators (still the Diamond DA-42 that we flew in Hamilton) and as such suffers from no weather delays. Once we start flying (for the final 8 events including the test) weather restrictions are quite minimal as the IFR environment allows us to fly in really quite marginal conditions. Good news in the UK.
The first few days are spent on the induction process, being briefed on the principal differences between flying here and in NZ. Number one difference: it's busy. The density of the population of the UK coupled with the proliferation of airfields (largely to do with the number that appeared during the war) means that, where you could make a journey in NZ for an hour and speak to three air traffic control stations, here you will speak to double that, at least! To illustrate the difference here is a low level map of the airways around Hamilton:
And here is the same for the area around Manchester:
Confusing to say the least! To add to this, the instructors are not here to spoon-feed us. The raw skills of instrument flying ought to be in place from NZ so what they are doing here is encouraging us in the right direction and coaching us for the specific skills required for the IR test. However, we are left to discover the vast majority of the information required on our own. This helps secure the knowledge as you tend to remember things when you realise that you genuinely need to know them and assists in building up the character of a captain - taking responsibility for our own safety and that of the other occupants of the aircraft.
It's a massive step up but that will always be the case as we progress through training and on through our careers. Next post should ideally be news of having passed my IRT (Instrument Rating Test) and a date to begin the JOC (Jet Orientation Course).
Finally here's a short video of my time in Hamilton:
