Aviate, Navigate, Communicate : Week 61: PPL Flight School Week 30

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Week 61: PPL Flight School Week 30 - Completion

Monday
My day started late with my final sim session at 1530hrs. I was left with 3.5hrs and so I entered a very long route into my flight plan flying to many aerodromes and doing all the approaches which were mainly everything I've learnt - NDB, VOR, ILS. Turned on the autopilot during cruising while switching to manual flying during approaches. Even so, I got really bored and tired looking at the G1000 screen.

By the time everything was done, it was already nightfall when I left the school building. At last, I'm finished with all necessary trainings I have to do in Ballarat and the paper work can get started to prepare for my departure back to Singapore.

Lots of things to settle with all the clearance signatures I had to get from a number of key figures in the school, plus tallying all my hours to make sure I didn't fly less than required. Confirmation of my air tickets came on Thursday and I left Australia on Friday noon.

The month of May is the craziest month I had with 23.4hrs of flight and 21hrs of sim hours clocked. I'm glad this rush occured which allowed me to get home by end of the month. I was totally missing the food in Singapore as well as my family and friends. When I touched down in Changi Airport close to 2200hrs, I got greeted by the familiar humid and hot weather, something which I welcome.

It has been a long but fulfilling seven months in Down Under, experiencing Spring, Summer, Autumn and skirting Winter. I left Singapore with zero flight experience under my belt but I returned with 86hrs and armed with a PPL which I'm proud to have achieved. The experience of life abroad is something I'll treasure and remember for the rest of my life.

Now I'm back home, it's time to look forward to the next phase of training in the A320 simulator. It's going to take me another six months; I'm now done with 66% of the whole course and it feels I'm getting closer.