My first flight with Highland Airways was as planned
the compulsary OPC (Operator Proficiency Check)
which has to be done before I can fly on line.
The day started with a brief in Lintons office
while we were waiting for the mechanics to fix some
stuff on G-LOVB. Since I hadn't been flying since
October I got to do some circuits before the OPC,
two with both engines running and one single engine.
These went well and we started the OPC.
We took off from runway 23 followed by an immediate
engine failure. The Jetstream doesn't climb that
well one one engine, unless you are careful about
keeping the correct speed.
I flew back to the VOR antenna which is located
on the airfield and started the full ILS procedure
to land back at runway 23. When I had decended down
to my decision altitude we simulated that the runway
was not in sight which means that I had to go "missed
approach" and make a single engine go around.
After this we headed for Aberdeen.
When we were closing in on Aberdeen the fire bell
started ringing (Linton was playing with switches),
so I asked relevant memory items and checklist to
try to solve the problem. ATC gave us vectors in
for an NDB approach to runway 34 which I flew on
one engine and landed. That completed my OPC.
In Aberdeen we picked up Nick who flew his OPC
on the way back to Inverness, while I was in the
back enjoying a rather late lunch.
On Monday I will if everything goes as planned
have my first passenger flight as I start my "line
training". This is ordinary routes with passengers,
but has to be floew with a training captain. I'm
looking forward to do some real flying without losing
an engine every other minute.
Kristian and I have now moved into our apartment
in Inverness. Pictures to come...
I had my last day at work at Gardermoen last friday
and went from there straight to Trondheim on our
annual February journey. This was probably the last
as both Nils and Mads will have graduated in summer.
Sunday I went straight to Aalborg to visit my Grandfather
and was back home again late Tuesday evening. Thurday
I was on the plane to Aberdeen followed by a rather
boring 3 1/2 hour busride to Inverness. I got to
fly alot of different planes the last week (B737,
A321, MD81, DHC8, CRJ200). On the way over here
I counted the number of flights I can remember from
the last year and reached over 100. It would have
been better if they were in my logbook.
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Linton operates the GPS before departure
I adjust the RMI on the way to Aberdeen
G-LOVB back in Inverness
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