Going Solo
My name is Eleni Bohacek, I am 16 years old, I live in Tunbridge Wells, attend Tonbridge Grammar School, and I am a cadet at 129 Squadron ATC (Air Training Corps) in Tunbridge Wells. My ambition has been, for as long as I can remember, to become a pilot in the RAF. This is my story of my first solo flight…
Saturday 28 June 2008
Arrived at the headquarters of 618 VGS (Volunteer Gliding School) Squadron, based at RAF Odiham near Basingstoke shortly before 09:00hrs.
I put on my flying suit before attending the morning briefing – today would be the day that I would, hopefully, go solo. I had been training up for this day since I was fortunate to be awarded, back in May, a Gliding Scholarship with the ATC. It has been a gruelling few months combining my GCSE exams during the week, and learning to fly on at least one day during the weekend.
As the morning briefing progressed, my face fell as the Met Office forecasts predicted strong, changeable winds – not particularly good news for the experienced pilots, much less so for a cadet’s first solo attempt. Nevertheless, at the end of the briefing, I went straight up in the air with my instructor, Flt Lt Mockeridge, for a solo check. In a solo check, you go through the whole flight as if you were on your own, but you have the reassuring feeling of having the instructor by your side. After a few take-offs and landings he informed me that I had passed the assessment and that I would be going solo – eureka!
My solo flight should be simple enough: take-off; climb to 800ft; fly along a set circuit; make a final turn before making a smooth tidy landing – in all about five minutes. The feeling of elation quickly subsided with the realisation that there would be no one there to turn to if things went wrong. The tales of woe of the fate of previous solo attempts that I had heard and the worsening weather did not help the situation, one bit!
The instructor was swiftly replaced by two heavy iron bars screwed into the floor to maintain the balance of the plane. Putting these thoughts of self-doubt out of my mind, I got on with the pre flight checks. A few minutes later I was sitting at the start of the runway, engine revving, and about to do what I had, for many years, dreamt of doing.
Open up the throttle to full power….Speed builds up 20, 30, 40kts….At 45kts the plane lifts up….Altitude rises 100, 200, 300feet…I’m up!
I cannot begin to describe the feelings of freely soaring above the earth, watching those on the ground below grow smaller and smaller.
700feet, switch on the carburettor heater to prevent the fuel from freezing…
I am experiencing such a powerful cocktail of emotions unlike anything I have ever known. This could become addictive.
When I pass parallel to the aiming point at 800feet, I cut the power to the engine. I am now gliding…
Call the control tower on the radio to announce my approach…
Bank the plane to the left to line up with the runway for the final approach. Oh dear, I suddenly realise that I had been singing to myself pretty much non-stop throughout the flight – must be nerves!
400feet, switch off the carb heater. Remember - Attitude, Alignment, Air Speed… Strong buffeting crosswinds make this the most challenging landing that I have had to make…100feet, I start to level off… 20feet… Slowly the plane settles down onto the runway, touchdown… A sudden strong gust of wind catches the tail veering me off course! I quickly correct and bring the plane to a halt… I’ve made it!
I feel so privileged at having been granted such an amazing opportunity as a Gliding Scholarship. I hope to continue flying, and I will be applying to the ATC for a Flying Scholarship, and to 618 Squadron to become a Staff Cadet.
Without any doubt, I will carry these memories of my first flight for the rest of my life.
Cdt Eleni Bohacek
129Sqn ATC |
