Golf Oscar Zulu on a training mission... on the go from a touch and go from MAN/Barton Runway Zero Niner.
| ON ENGLISH GRASS |
|---|
| -- Flying in Britain with a US PPL -- |
|---|
This time, I do get checked out to fly in England, once again with the Lancashire Aero Club. This section will detail my adventure as a FAA-licensed private pilot getting checked out in the UK. Read on...
During September 1998, I got checked out with the Lancashire Aero Club (which has been around since the 1920's!) at Manchester/Barton aerodrome. Barton is a typical general aviation airfield with 3 grass runways, the LAC with its flight school, several interesting aircraft and a gaggle of helicopters. The Lancashire Aero Club will cheerfully let US PPL's fly their aircraft after getting checked out with one of their instructors plus a month's temporary membership. Below are my experiences, and I've added some useful links at the bottom of the page that you might like to use for further info.
| -- Preparations and Experiences -- |
|---|
How should I prepare? What's good to buy so that you know your way around, and fly legally & safely.
Two peoples separated by a common language? Quick guide to RT procedures I found useful. No, the radio work isn't that frightening for a US PPL, but there are some differences (and some things that simply don't exist in the US, such as AFIS).
Flying at Barton Photographs and my experience as a pilot who has always flown off long paved runways now finding himself on short grass runways...
Disclaimer! Don't take any of this as authoratative (especially with JAR/FCL coming into effect), all this is just my take on how it works. Always check with your instructor! Hopefully you'll find my experiences helpful.
| -- Useful UK Links -- |
|---|
Not many people who live outside Britain realize how rich British aviation heritage is, despite the best efforts of the bureaucrats to kill it dead! (Currently, Europe is trying to destroy the British private pilot - fortunately AOPA managed to prevent some of the more repressive JAR/FCL rules such as: any front-seat passenger must have a medical, and all pilots must undergo psychiatric evaluation! IMHO, the European bureaucrats make the Vogons look reasonable - a lesson to us all that we must remain vigilant and prevent the FAA from ever going that way)
| Barton and the LAC | Information about Barton Aerodrome, and the Lancashire Aero Club. It even has some pics of the instructor who checked me out... |
| Thunder and Lightnings | This site is dedicated to British post-war military aviation. An excellent site - and you can see most of the aircraft for real at museums in the UK. |
| TMDG's Wx site | Weather info and NOTAMs in the UK. You need a userid and password to use this, but signing up is easy and it's free. This site is a must because the Met Office charges dearly for weather briefings. |
| NATS Aeronautical Information | National Air Transportation Services information - includes NOTAM's etc. |
| Civil Aviation Authority | The British equivalent of the FAA. |