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Sunday 22 December 2013

I'm a pilot!


After something like two months of silence, today I have some time again to write here. I have been really busy, both for university stuff and for flying.
After I took the exam for my ultralight pilot certificate (VDS certificate), I had to wait for a month without flying, waiting for the certificate to arrive physically in Pisa from Rome. But since the 16 of November, the day after the certificate arrived at the aeroclub, I started to flying again. But however, although the Aeroclub received my certificate, I had it in my hand only on the 14 of December, during the traditional Aeroclub Christmas Dinner, together with the other new pilots. But obviously in the meantime I kept flying!



















Today, I have more than seven hour of flying since when the certificate arrived in Pisa!
After some times spent alone flying near the home field, even with 15 kts of crosswinds, I started flying with my instructor for some cross country fliying. 
My first trip was to Mensanello, a field near Siena, just thirty minutes of flight far from Valdera, my home base.

(Mensanello)

It was not too difficult to find and I had the chance of flying near the famous city of San Miniato, but the landing was a bit hard. We stopped for a coffee and for saying hello to the other pilots but the most astonishing thing were some homebuild aircraft, one more beautiful than the other! 

(Colle Val d'Elsa)



The second cross country flight was really more challenging: we planned to go from Valdera to Serristori, a very beautiful airfield with a 500m asphalted runway between Arezzo and Perugia, near the Trasimeno Lake. On the way back, we flew over Val di Chiana airfield, we did a touch and go at Chiusdino airfield (you can read here http://yokeandrudder.blogspot.it/2013/10/from-valdera-to-chiusdino-over-siena.html my previous adventure in Chiusdino!) and we returned to home, passing near the wonderful city of Volterra. This time finding the field was very hard. The visibility was very low, both for the sun in the eyes and for a bit of mist that was floating on the ground, and I had to ask my instructor to help me to find the airfield. 



I then discovered I was very close but given the bad metereological conditions I wasn't able to recognise it.
The runway was not very long, just 500m, so I had to be very precise on the landing, but it was pretty good. After we landed, we walked some minutes in the surroundings of the field and then we returned to home. We planned to fly over Trasimento lake, but it was covered by mist so we headed to Val di Chiana airfield, then to Chiusdino and the back to home. I flew for more that two hours, it was such a great experience!

My third  flight was probably the most beautiful but the landing the most difficult I had since now!
We went to Punta Ala, a very beautiful field near Grosseto. The first half of the trip was the same I flew some months ago, when I went to the field San Vincenzo (here you can find an article on this trip: http://yokeandrudder.blogspot.it/2013/05/after-i-have-being-long-time-waiting.html).


(San Vincenzo harbour)

After San Vincenzo, we headed to Piombino and then to Follonica and Pian D'Alma, a small plain between the mountains, where the field is located.

 (Follonica)


 (Cala Violina)

As you can see in the image below, the runway is quite long, 880m, but to land is anything than simple, because of two thirty meters high light cables (you can clearly see them in the image below!) and due to the wood on the other sides of the runway.



However, as you can see in the video, at the end of the article, I managed to land. I was also very happy because it was a very smooth landing! We then returned back to home, with a beautiful sunset with us.



On the way back I also did a touch and go in Cecina airfield. This flight was one of the most beautiful I have ever did, after the one in Reggio Calabria (http://yokeandrudder.blogspot.it/2013/08/flying-at-sunset-over-strait-of-messina.html). I flew over some really wonderful places, and I really love the reflection of the sun on the sea! Here you can find the video of this last adventure: