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My flying week in England and Switzerland taught me a lot about flying, about my skills, and about local usages.

Local procedures
Before that week, I flew VFR in Switerland, France, and Germany (only once…). When flying to controlled airports, the procedures are always similar, but they vary on uncontrolled airfields. The main difference comes from the way to join the circuit pattern.

In Switzerland we tend to join it in downwind, with a 90° turn. French pilots are used to join using a 270° turn, to get a better view of other traffics. In England, I discovered the overhead join with descent on the dead side. This starts with by passing over the airport, then overfly the cirtuit at higher altitude, then descend on the other side of the runway (dead side) to finally join downind.

This is not trivial, nor complex to fly, but it requires a good orientation, and some preparation, particularly if you’re not used to it. Using other joining procedure could be hazardous, as local pilots won’t know what you’re doing.

US readers can probably say more about the 45° joins. It is important to know such local procedures to smoothly integrate the pattern. Flying a couple of hours with an instructor to discover and practice them is definetly worth.

IFR vs. VFR
Here again, flying IFR makes life easier. IFR procedures and phraseology are much more standard than their VFR counterparts. VFR navigation in Switzerland is super easy. Mountains and lakes with typical and easy to spot shapes make perfect landmarks.

England and France are not the same… at all. No mountains, no significant lakes, only roads and towns… most of them fitted with castles and churches. Navigating using only map, compass and clock is much more challenging. VFR pilots can use GPS and radio-navigation to make it easier.

IFR navigation and procedures are the same everywhere. As soon as you can track a radial, fly a reversal procedure and a holding, you’re done with it. No need to find ambiguous landmarks. The simplicity of IFR is not new to me, but this flying week confirmed it one more time.

One never forget
Many rules define the minimum flight hours required over the last period of time by a pilot to be “current”. It is also part of the pilot responsibilities to know his own limits, and not fly without appropriate recency. As I stopped flying five months before that flying week, I was well beyond my personal limits, and the limit to carry passengers.

I flew all the time with a friend of mine, who is also instructor. The first flight was to regain currency, and he acted as safety pilot on the other legs. On the second day, I had to fly IMC, and manually - the autopilot was unable to maintain altitude within 100 feet.

This is one the advantages of flying in England: low level clouds, but no icing, and no high grounds - the perfect conditions for flying IMC. My last IMC time was probably something like one year away, and the ability to fly with sole reference to the instruments is the hardest part of IFR.

I was however positively surprised: my flying skills were much better than I expected, and this from the very first seconds spent in IMC. The good old principles I learned came back nearly instantly: take decisions on the instruments, implement them on the horizon, monitor the instruments.

I can not seriously advise anyone to start an IFR flight alone with no recent experience, that would be foolish. But the time required to regain comfort is much shorter than I expected.

Weather and plans
Light aviation plans are always weather dependent. The conditions I got in both England and Switzerland were perfect for what I wanted to practice. Flying VFR only would probably have been possible, but in marginal conditions.

I would probably have fly anyway, except in cases of CB’s, because training in adverse conditions is the best way to keep or regain sharp skills.

Long lasting and new friends
The last lesson I learned is a human one. No human factors this time, but about friendship. While I was in Geneva, I met old friends, some of which I did not see for months or even years. This is one of the best part of light aviation: we talked like if I never went away. Mostly about flying, but not only.

I also met new people, with different backgrounds, speaking different languages, but all sharing the same passion for aviation. Discussions started instantly. The same thing probably exist around different fields of activity, but this is one of the thing I appreciate the most in the flying community: it is a strong community.

And if you’re already a pilot, feel free to use these 10 reasons to bring new members to the flying community.

Take the intellectual challenge
Pilots don’t have to be big-brainers, and holding a Master of Aeronautics is not a prerequisite, but learning to fly is also an intellectual challenge. Particularly if you get an instrument rating, the workload, decision making, and flight management will certainly stimulate you.

Meet interesting people
Whether you fly in a club, school, or within an owners group, you can be sure that you’ll meet tons of interesting persons. Other pilots, instructors, airport staff, engineers, they all have captivating stories to tell you.

Save time
Visiting remote places is much easier as a pilot. You can use the extra-speed to visit family members living away more easily, save time, and make more out of the 24 hours you get each day.

Technical interest
If you like technical things, you’re probably already attracted by airplane. Becoming a pilot means that you’ll develop your technical knowledge in various fields: aerodynamics, avionics, engines, … If you’re not upset when someone calls you a geek, try flying a glass-cockpit light aircraft, you’ll find it even better.

An impressive hobby
The social impact of having “flying” as a hobby can be surprising. I got married the day after my introductory flight, so this is not how I seduced my wonderful wife, but I’m sur it works. The way your colleagues, friends and other relative perceive you will certainly change when you’ll become a pilot. Note that green integrists might not like that…

The 100$ hamburger
Flying to a remote and exciting location is good, but flying to a nearby airport with a good restaurant is not bad either. Even if the concept of 100$ hamburger shall probably be adapted to the 250$ hamburger because of all the cost increase, it’s still really cool. Take your passengers on board, fly 30 minutes, eat on the airport restaurant’s terrace looking at other planes, and fly home.

Change the way you see the world
That might seem a silly, romantic thing, but it’s true: flying and seeing the world from above makes it look different. Pilots also learn to read the weather signs, and get a better understanding of how things are working, on a more global scale.

Can be a second job opportunity

Never say never. Getting a commercial pilot license requires more theory and training than a simple private pilot license, but it could open new opportunities someday. Getting an “upgrade” from private to commercial is also possible within a couple of months. Many pilot jobs do not pay that well, but who knows ?

Help the community
I already posted on this blog about Angel Flights, and other ways general aviation is helping the whole community. There are many of them, and numerous associations need the help of volunteer pilots.

Fun
Last but not least, flying is fun !

Anything else to add ? I’m waiting for your comments !

Ten days ago, Julien - the editor of Making Time for Flying - sent me an e-mail to tell me he was in Germany for a couple of weeks, and proposed we meet. Meeting with a reader, fellow blogger, and pilot student, how could I say no ?

We decided to meet for a coffee in Frankfurt airport. As I did not resumed my flying here, and as Julien was as away of his Australian homebase as possible, no flying was planned. Can you guess what we talked about ? Yes, blogging and flying. Julien is only one or two flights away from his PPL exam, so keep your fingers crossed for him..

We compared flying in Australia and Europe, and amongst many topics came variation. You know, the difference between magnetic north and geographic north. For all European pilots trained in the last decade (if not longer), variation was a trap to avoid in theoretical examinations. But for people like Julien, flying where variation is above 10 degrees, it’s a rather important thing to know.

We discussed various topics, while looking at a Lufthansa Boeing 747, and we observed the full turn-around of a TAP Airbus 319 - yes, we discussed a lot. To keep track of this event, we asked the waiter to take a picture of us…

This is how two blogging pilots look like when they meet - Julien on the left, and myself on the right. When I told about “animating the general aviation community”, I was referring to this kind of things. It’s not much, but who knows where this can lead ?

Years ago, I answered the questions of a member wannabe, in Geneva aeroclub. I was the only one there, and spend a few minutes to present him the club. He became a very active member. If I just told him “come back when the office is open”, I’m not sure it would have been the same.

If we want to keep the flying community strong and alive, we have to make it happen. By the way, have you seen the slogan on the jetty, in the background of this picture ? How cool is that ?