Take-Off And Landing Cessna 172

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Hope you enjoy this cool video taken while flying over parts of Jozi!🤩👩‍✈️🇿🇦️
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Cessna 172 Take-Off

Hey fellow Aviators and Enthusiasts!

I put together this quick video that I took during one of my take-offs from the Grand Central Airport in South Africa. It happened to be during the summer time, this is evident by the fluffy white clouds that are present! They look fluffy but trust me, they can be pretty violent to fly around or in to.

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-RikaThePilot

MY Top 10 Aviation Movies!!!

We all love movies whether the genre is romance, drama, comedy, or action. There are several amazing movies relating to Aviation; from ‘Snakes on the Plane’ to ‘American Made’ to the Animation movie ‘Planes’. Aviation movies created awareness of the many popular traits seen in the aviation world. Movies are one of the mainstream mediums through which aviation has been portrayed as a much desirable field of career choice; it has allowed us to, wonder more about flight, see beautiful and exotic destinations that a lot of us wish we could travel to, and lastly movies have also shown us the lifestyle of the aircrew in a desirable light. I thought of sharing MY favourite ALL TIME Aviation Movies, these movies inspired me in some way or made me laugh.

10. Sully

j“We're going to end up on the Hudson.”
This movie is based off of the real life events that unfolded on US Airways Flight 1549, the movie is scripted according to the records of the event as they are recorded in the ‘Highest Duty’ book. This story of Chesley Sullenberger (Tom Hanks), an American pilot who became a hero after landing a US Airways Airbus A320 on the Hudson River as a result of a dual engine failure due to bird strike on departure from New York City’s LaGuardia Airport, resulting in no loss of life. In this movie we see the aftermath of the flight and the events that unfolded, we also get a look into what the Captain and First Officer had to endure during the NTSB investigations that follow the incident. The need to be a quick decision-maker is one of the key factors required to be a captain, and this movie portrays exactly why that is.

jFact: Chesley Sullenberger was the first pilot to successfully land on the Hudson River.

9. Air Force One (1997)

The fate of the nation rests on the courage of one man. Both Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman star in the gripping thriller ‘Air Force One’. After making a speech about never negotiating with terrorists, President James Marshall (Harrison Ford) boards the Presidential Aircraft, known as, Air Force One, with his family and advisors. Terrorists led by Ivan Korshunov (Gary Oldman) hijack the aircraft in flight while Marshall, a former soldier, remains hidden while stealthily moving inside the aircraft to rescue his family and everyone onboard. One of my best scenes from the movie is where Air Force One is attacked by Migs (A fighter aircraft made by Russian MiG company)

8. Amelia (2009)

j“Adventure is worthwhile in itself.”
Amelia Earhart is one of the many aviators that inspire me; Amelia more so with her being a female pilot like myself making this one of my favourite movies. Amelia played by Hilary Swank, feels and knows she is destined to reach great heights in aviation. She feels that the pilot seat is made for her, she sets numerous aviation records and sets many milestones in the aviation world, one of the more known ones being the first woman to fly alone across the Atlantic Ocean, she also sets milestones for flying at certain speeds and altitudes. Amelia wanted to undergo the greatest challenge, she wanted to become the first woman pilot to navigate around the whole globe in an aircraft. This movie inspires me as it shows that anyone can do anything they set their mind to!

7. Apollo 13 (1995)

Apollo 13 is based on the real life events that unfolded on NASA’s 13^th Apollo Mission. The flight to the moon and back becomes harrowing when the mission is compromised due the spacecraft suffering damage resulting in the lives of the astronauts; Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) and Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) depend on their desire to live and competency alongside the help of hundreds of personal in Mission Control back on Earth in a desperate attempt to safely get the astronauts back home.

jFact: Apollo 13 was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning two for Best Sound and Best Film Editing.

6. Airwolf (1984-1987)

Airwolf is an American Television Series, now, I know that this is a TV series and not a film, however it is definitely one of my best aviation screen plays. The series focuses on a high-tech military helicopter code named Airwolf, and the crew of this high-tech military helicopter. In the series the crew go on various missions, mainly dealing with the Cold War, this high action series has over four seasons. The main cast of Airwolf is Jan-Michael Vincent, Ernest Borgnine, Alex Cord, and Jean Bruce Scott.

5. Airplane! (1980)

Airplane!’s title doesn’t leave anything to our imagination. This movie is about, guess what? An Airplane. It’s not only the first film that comes to mind when one thinks of the many convergences of flight and cinema; it’s also a great comedy! It features one absurdly funny scene after the other, we see just how funny this movie really is in the scenario where a troubled war pilot tries to overcome his drinking problem while trying to land this multi-engine commercial aircraft safely while the real pilots have all been poisoned by the onboard food. Beef or chicken? In this case NOT the Fish (Movie reference!).

4. Catch Me if You Can (2005)

Based on a true story, 2005’s Catch Me if You Can revolves around a charming cat-and-mouse game between Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays a teen, forgery expert known as Frank Abagnale, and Tom Hanks, playing an FBI agent on his tail. In the film, Frank Abagnale grows up idolising airline pilots. One of his, Frank Abagnale’s, skills involves forging pay cheques from Pan Am Airways, using stickers from Pan Am toy aircraft to make the pay cheques look official. This eventually leads Frank Abagnale to manipulate his way onto actual flights, pretending to be a dead-heading pilot. His dream of living the pilot’s life and walking arm-in-arm with beautiful flight attendants becomes a reality, but it isn’t long before this young, criminal mastermind’s fraudulent lifestyle comes crashing down. This film is truly exciting to watch!

3. The Aviator (2004)

This film is based between the 1930s and 1940s and depicts the exceptional director and aviator Howard Hughes who is played by Leonardo DiCaprio. The movie was based on the non-fiction book, ‘Howard Hughes: The Secret Life by Charles Higham,’ the film tells us of the life of Howard Hughes, an aviation pioneer and director of the aviation movie ‘Hell's Angels’ (1930). This billionaire, Howard Hughes, helped push the boundaries of aviation, by breaking speed records, expanding airlines and building the splendid Spruce Goose.

2. Pearl Harbour (2001)

‘Pearl Harbour’ is a historical drama, featuring an A-list cast with Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale chosen for the main roles for this jet-fuelled action-filled film. ‘Pearl Harbour’ shows us about the love of flight and the special bond of two best friends during the start of the war that lead to the attacks by the Japanese Military on Pearl Harbour. This emotional roller-coaster is truly one of the best aviation movies. We can see why the movie is one of my top aviation movies with the romance, drama, tasteful legendary, and Oscar winning Best Sound Editing quality. Flying with broomsticks posing as guns. Personally; It’s a truly amazing movie!

1. Top Gun (1986)

j“I feel the need … the need for speed.”
I know I tend to go on and on about ‘Top Gun’ in all my other blogposts, but love it or hate it, Top Gun is one of the most iconic action dramas from the 1980s. In this spectacular film, Tom Cruise plays a military navy pilot named Pete Mitchell, callsign; ‘Maverick’, and Val Kilmer also plays the role of a military navy pilot with the callsign, ‘Ice Man’. As flight students in the U.S. Navy’s elite fighter pilot school, "Top Gun", these two cocky pilots compete to win the top spot. Charlie (played by Kelly McGillis) is a civilian instructor and as the movie unfolds we find that her and Pete's grow more in love with each other. This film has embedded itself into the aviation industry; as well as the world like arguably no other aviation movie in film history has. This movie helped Tom Cruise on his path to superstardom in Hollywood. Top Gun also earned an Oscar for Best Soundtrack, this must have been for the famous romantic song “Take My Breath Away” by Berlin, and the upbeat, fun-filled song “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins.

jFun Fact: The U.S. Navy reported its highest application rates after Top Gun was released; could it have had something to do with this A rated movie or how much fun it looks like to fly the F-14 Tomcat Jet seen in the film.

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What's in MY STUDENT pilot flight bag??

HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR VERY OWN PAIR OF SUNGLASSES FOR AVIATION???

When you think of sunglasses for aviation, are you possibly thinking of that Gold Pair of RayBan Aviators you saw once in a shop that look identical to the pair Tom Cruise "Maverick" wears in the all-time best aviation movie (according to me of course), Top Gun? While picking the right pair of sunglasses may not seem like a big deal, it's a task every pilot should pay a considerable amount of energy in. Lets discuss some important aspects of buying a good durable set of sunglasses. Unlike most people, pilots are exposed to high quantities of sunlight on most flights that occur during the day, this directly impacts your eyes, not only does it make it difficult to see outside, it also harms your eyes in certain cases. Because pilots are flying at higher altitudes, they have less of the ever so lovely mass of air surrounding our Earth, otherwise known as the Atmosphere, protecting them and their eyes and thus, they receive more sun rays than your ordinary person, and therefore pilots are exposed to more ultraviolet radiation than most people, and herein lies our problem as this is dangerous to the pilot's health.

Tom Cruise in Top Gun wearing Randolph Aviators

Quality of the Sunglasses
The quality of the sunglasses you decide to purchase is of paramount importance as it helps safeguard a pilot’s vision, one of the more important sensory assets of a pilot. A quality pair of sunglasses is essential in a flying environment due to optimising ones vision while flying in the cockpit and keeping a good look out outside of the cockpit. The harmful rays from the sun can, overtime effect ones vision, having a good pair of sunglasses can prevent this from happening or at least slow down the progression of any visual impairments this would cause.

The Colour of each Lense
Red, green and brown lenses increase contrast, but distort other colours. These lenses will help with visual flying and not help with instrument flying, provided you are training and are required to wear foggles, however once in an airline you may very well have a flight plan that is filed to be flown under instrument flight rules while most of your flight will be in VMC conditions and in these cases, protective eye-wear as discussed in this post would be of assistance in protecting your eyes. These sunglasses are rather important during the PPL stages of your flying and the visual flying section of your Commericial Pilot Licence course, however should you start your Instrument Rating training these sunglasses will become less relevant as in most cases you will have to wear foggles, as mentioned above in this post. Grey lenses will help keep a large part of the sun's rays out, a primary use of sunglasses. With grey lenses you will still be able to see colors considerably well, however, you may have guessed it, but even grey lenses have a flaw and it is this, the contrast seen through grey lenses is not great. So when you choose the colour of the lenses you would like to purchase, keep these in mind, remember however, in aircraft such as the Boeing 737-800 and the likes, the Primary Flight Display, Navigation Display and Engine Monitor Screens all have certain colours, each colour tells us something about the aircraft, an example of this would be on the Primary Flight Display of the 737-800 we have something known as a "tape" that essentially shows us the limits in terms of speed when it comes to how slow we can fly before we stall or how fast we can fly, this is important and the "tape" is in red, why you ask? Because as we just covered, it's important, we need to know if we are going to fly faster than the aircraft can handle and so mixing colours due to our lenses might not be such a great idea in aircraft with these systems.

Polarisation
In short, DO NOT use polarized sunglasses. Polarized lenses are not compatible for a flying environment, due to the fact that the polarising effect interferes with how we see the aircrafts instruments and screens while flying.

Vintage Pilot Goggles

Gradients

The gradient on a pair aviation sunglasses can be externally useful since the lower section of the lens is lighter than the upper section of the lens. This would be very helpful with switching from visual flying to instrument flying, you wouldn’t need to move your head as you can easily just move your eyes and see everything you need to.

Interesting Facts of Aviation Sunglasses
jAviator sunglasses, or "pilot's glasses", were actually developed in 1936 by Bausch & Lomb for pilots to protect their eyes while flying, hence the name "aviators" was best suited. These sunglasses are credited with being one the first popularized types of sunglasses to be developed. The sunglasses developed were lighter, thinner, and “more elegantly designed”, and therefore overtook the original Flight Goggles.
jThe most used type of pilot sunglasses are the well-known Aviator by Ray-Ban. These are a pair of sunglasses that feel light and comfortable when you are wearing them, something you might want and need while flying. These are the most worn pair of aviation sunglasses for both genders because of the fashionable look as well as having the most desirable visual effect for flying.

Using a good pair of quality sunglasses decreases eye fatigue, and protects ocular tissues from exposure to solar radiation. The sunglasses one chooses will also aid the dark adaptation process, which is caused by prolonged exposure to bright sunlight, very useful for flight during the twilight hours.

ADVANTAGES OF FLIGHT SIMULATORS

What is a Flight Simulator ?

A flight simulator is a device or software that artificially recreates flight and the environment in which an aircraft flies. A simulator can be used for pilot training or during the process of designing a new aircraft. Flight simulators replicate the equations and laws that govern how aircraft fly, how they react to any input on the aircraft controls, the effects of other aircraft systems, and how the aircraft reacts to external factors such as air density, turbulence, wind shear, cloud, precipitation, etc. Flight simulation is used for a variety of reasons, including flight training (mainly of pilots), the design and development of the aircraft itself, and research into aircraft characteristics and control handling qualities. There are countless advantages to incorporating simulation into your flight training program.

Simulation is the future of flight training; there are so many advantages you can gain from utilising this technology right now.

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1. Mindful of the Environment
Most aircraft nowadays are very fuel efficient, but they still emit fumes and gases into the atmosphere like most other forms of transport. Flight simulators will decrease the carbon footprint while you practice for hours without emitting any air or noise pollution into the atmosphere. With the present climate change situation, this is a small change that we can all feel good about.

2 . Savings
Aircraft require large amounts of AVGAS/Jet A1 (in other words, fuel) and maintenance (replacement of aircraft parts, oil etc.) to keep them running in pristine condition, this is costly, and then we have the aircraft's insurance to add to that, and excess insurance that is required to protect you in the event of an emergency. By jumping into a flight simulator, you "fly" right over all of these hurdles. You can also reduce the number of airborne lessons you need because you can master your moves on the ground first. Some pilots don’t agree with this philosophy, although simulation does aid as a beginner to sharpen your skills and technique, it all tallys up to some hard-earned savings to make your flight training much more affordable and accessible.

3. Practice Makes Perfect
The default installation allows you to hop into one of more than several different aircraft. It’s an engineering tool that can be used to predict the flying characteristics of an aircraft with incredible accuracy. When you start flight training, you need to learn a wide range of procedures such as climbing, descending, flying straight, turning, taxiing and how to recover from a spin, spiral dive and a stall. As the size, position and functionality of the instruments in most flight simulators are exact replicas of those you would find in a real aircraft, you can prepare for procedures before hopping into the real plane. You can also practice on the simulator between lessons to hone your skills. This speeds up your training process significantly as you just need to apply what you’ve learnt when you jump into the real aircraft and can move onto more advanced flight lessons much faster.

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4. Explore the Globe
It allows you to hop in and explore the globe to your heart's content,
Flight simulators display visuals of a range of real locations and airports from around the globe. It would be impossible to practice flying over the Himalayas Mountains when you’re based in Johannesburg, or from London to Los Angeles and beyond, but flight simulators make this possible. Visit areas and airports you have never visited before. Simulators keep training fresh and exciting, while also showing you how many amazing experiences lay ahead, within your reach when you obtain your pilot licence.

5. Be Prepared
Flight Simulators are incredibly detailed, with little touches factored in such as detailed weather modeling and the potential for system failures. Nearly every component of a plane can fail randomly, which, while frustrating, helps create a more realistic simulation experience. Practising emergency situations is a vital part of your pilot training, but it’s hard to do this in an authentic way when you’re in the air when your well-being is highly likely to be at risk. Simulation allows you to practise your response time and techniques to challenging weather conditions and system failures while keeping both you and your instructor safe. This allows you to develop the range of complex risk assessment and management skills you need to be a great pilot.

6. Log Additional Flight Hours
You are also allowed to log the time spent in a  flight simulators provided that the flight simulator used is approved for training by the aviation authority in your country, however, during training in most cases you are only allowed to log up to a certain amount of your simulator time towards your total time but do not let this discourage you from using a flight simulator to hone down your procedures and flying skills, it very well may be the difference between getting something on a first attempt in the real aircraft or having to do it again.

Flight schools use different types of flight simulators from different manufactures from all around the world, however, they all serve the main purpose of recreating the miracle that is, flight, and so all of them are very accurate for training purposes.

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WHAT DO THE BARS ON A PILOT'S UNIFORM MEAN?

 Airline pilots wear stripes on their sleeves and/or epaulettes on their shoulders.

What is an epaulette? An epaulette is an ornamental shoulder piece worn by pilots,  simply put, it's the black and gold piece of material you see pilots wearing on their shoulders. Does it have a purpose? Yes! Other than looking "cool" and making pilots feel like they are the coolest bunch of people to roam the Earth, they primarily serve the purpose of showing rank.

The golden bars on the epaulette are an indication of the pilot's level of rank either during training or once a pilot is in an airline. They can also show certain qualifications, for example a pilot with a PPL (Private Pilot's Licence) will wear epaulettes that have two golden bars whilst a pilot with a CPL (Commercial Pilot's Licence) will in most cases wear one with three golden bars.

A Captain always; at least, most of the time sits in the left hand seat of the aircraft and wears a four barred epaulette. The Captain is in most cases, the most experienced pilot onboard and supervises all crew members and is responsible to, with the help of his/her First Officer, make the major decisions during a normal flight and during an emergency. He/she is responsible for the aircraft, cargo, all passengers and crew.

Usually a three barred First Officer also called the Second in Command sits in the right hand seat of the cockpit. I am sure you have heard of the saying “Right Hand Man” well this is where it comes from. Some companies have epaulets with two gold bars for Second Officers. These pilots generally have their Commercial Pilot's Licence but do not yet possess their Airline Transport Pilot's Licence. First Officers are qualified to operate the aircraft in all stages of flight, including takeoffs and landings, however in bigger aircraft, such as the Boeing 737 and the likes, the Captain of the aircraft performs the taxi phase of the flight  using something called a tiller, this piece of equipment looks vaguely similar to a car's steering wheel and serves a similar purpose, to steer the nose wheel. The tiller is on the captain's side of the aircraft and thus the first officers in bigger aircraft do not taxi the aircraft before take-off and after landing.

While Airline Pilots wear golden bars, military pilots in the Navy and Air Force wear different insignia to indicate their level of expertise, experience and rank.

Epaulettes with one golden bar are not normally used for airline pilots but are sometimes used for Trainees. Bar colours sometimes vary from Airline to Airline and Company to Company. They are however, generally gold bars on a black or dark blue background.

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10 TOP REASONS FOR BECOMING A PILOT

1. FREE TIME - Varies from airline to airline, Charter  airlines have most of their flights during the summer season, during the winter season you are more than likely to have some extra free time on your hands. Long haul pilots can have up to 8 flights a month, however sometimes that figure is even lower resulting in a lot more free time and so you can expect to see up to 20 off days at times, about 10 of these days will be spent away from home

2. SHORT TRAINING AND STUDYING PERIOD - For most fields, study periods range from 3 to 5 years, some fields have even longer periods of time to complete your studies in that particular field, this is not one of them, in aviation you can become a qualified pilot in approximately 2 years, for some that number can be even less, it's based on student performance, weather conditions , instructor availability, your finances and so the duration is variable but 2 years is a reasonable figure.

3. INTERESTING PEOPLE - You constantly meet new people; your crew members constantly change and so do your passengers. You also don't have to be an Airline pilot; you can be a Charter pilot getting the rich and famous from point A to point B. During the different countries visits you can meet lots of diverse people from multicultural backgrounds

4. OVERNIGHT HOLIDAY DESTINATIONS - You get paid to stay in beautiful destinations across the globe, live in world class luxury hotels, get a chance to see new cities and to bring friends or family long for the ride. 

Statute of Liberty, NYC, USA

Taj Mahal, Agra India

Tango in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Eiffel Tower, Paris France

5. CHEAP TICKETS - Varying from airline to airline you receive between 2 and 4 free tickets a year and you can have 50% or more on discounts for standby tickets, these can be for family, your friends or yourself to spoil. Take your grandma along for a flight, your parents or go on a fun trip with your mates. Your Airline might also have partnerships with other Airlines, and certain hotel chains making your booking for both in most cases, cheaper than for everyone else, leaving you with more spending money.

6. ADRENALINE RUSH - Flying is not a job its a PASSION. The first solo flight, you'll ever do ; you will never forget. As an airline pilot imagine having control over a huge Airbus or Boeing, soaring through the skies; it must be absolutely exuberating. Flying to unknown destinations or just flying through fog, while you completely rely on your instruments and your autopilot to get you and your passengers to your destination. Its breath taking.

7. RESPECT - Pilots are admired for the huge responsibility they have on their shoulders to ensure the passengers, the aircraft and the cargo land safely.

8. MONEY - Pilots get paid extremely well compared to most other occupations out there today piloting is relatively high up in most areas of the world. Example a doctor working 100 hours compared to an Airline pilot working 70 hours a month; an Airline Captain would generally get paid more.

9. GOOD HEALTH
Well, it is exhausting to keep up an Aviation medical yet it's also beneficial to your body and mind. By wanting to keep your medical, you are encouraged to be healthy which makes you live longer.

10. ROBOT VOICE
To have a Electric "Robot voice " is not one of the best reasons to become a pilot, but definitely one of the most FUN reasons.

 

Pilots have a huge responsibility; this is due to the passengers, cargo and the aircraft therefore pilots get paid in most instances an above well off salary. They also need enough time to recuperate after flights because of jet lag. All the fun aside you need a lot of discipline, courage, willpower, belief in yourself, money and a bit of luck to become one. Make sure you sure to subscribe on my YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1Hp55yX4jM and confirm subscription to this blog via email

Email : rikathepilot@gmail.com