Trip Planned : Cardiff - Swansea Overhead 

Passenger : Dean Hanbury

Departure Atis : 270/08 Vis 30km Sct 045
Arrival Atis : 260/09 Vis 30km Sct 045 

Duration : 55 minutes

SUMMARY
A beautiful sunny day was all it took to convince me to go flying today. Was scheduled to fly at 13:30 but got delayed so I had to postponed the flight until 15:00.
Checked out G-BTAS and found the anti-collision lights were not working but as I was flying daytime VFR it did not matter.
Took off at 15:30 and headed towards Swansea in what was quite a busy 20 minutes. Seems everyone wanted to fly today and I spent most of my time scanning for traffic while my passenger was doing a good job of keeping us straight and level and on course.
Circled overhead Swansea Airport amongst stunning scenery at 2,800ft but did not have enough time for a full stop landing due to our earlier delay. 
Routine journey back to Cardiff along the coast.
Cleared St Hilary Arrival , right hand downwind for runway 30 and final number 2, had a little trouble spotting number 1 and had to ask ATC for confirmation of its position. Above average landing. 
Brakes Off 15:30 - Brakes On 16:25.

Thursday 1st August 2002

Trip Planned : Cardiff - Newport

Passenger : Angela Hanbury

Departure Atis : 060/08 Vis 20km Sct 016 
Arrival Atis : 060/05 Vis 20km Few 020 Bkn 100 

Duration : 35 minutes

SUMMARY
Took my aunty flying today and as it was her first flight in any type of aircraft we decided it would be best if we just went on a short flight towards Newport. Arrived at the airport in plenty of time and after a routine pre-flight we were off. As she was nervous I tried to make the takeoff as smooth as possible and I succeeded. We flew towards Newport and as the air was extremely smooth with very little wind I let her take control. She tried to keep it straight and level but got in a bit of a panic so I took over. As we only had half a hour we turned back just as we were reaching Newport. 
She loved the experience and  will now convince her husband (who is absolutely petrified of flying and has also never flown) just how safe and enjoyable flying in a light aircraft really is. Hope to take him flying soon.  
Cleared Wenvoe Arrival and left base for runway 12 and although my approach was decidedly dodgy I recovered well and my landing was above average. 
Brakes Off 13:40 - Brakes On 14:15.   

Monday 19th August 2002

Trip Planned : Cardiff - Newport

Passenger : Scarlet Barton

Departure Atis : 290/06 Vis 23km Sct 025 Bkn 040 
Arrival Atis : As Departure

Duration : 25 minutes

SUMMARY
I didn't have a passenger for this short flight so when I arrived at the airport I asked a group of visitors if anyone wanted a free half hour trip. A lady quickly volunteered her young daughter who was at the flying club to watch her grandfather on his trial lesson.
Just a short trip over the Millenium Stadium and back towards Cardiff Docks so I could get my flying fix. The little girl was thoroughly engrossed and enjoyed it immensely although she didn't say more than two words from beginning to end.  
Cleared Cardiff Docks Arrival and right base number 2 for runway 30, the aircraft cleared number 3 got a bit close to me as I was on final and had to break away and go-around and my landing was extremely good. 
Brakes Off 13:45 - Brakes On 14:10.   

Wednesday 4th September

Trip Planned : Cardiff - Newport

Passenger : Jennifer Hanbury

Departure Atis : 080/05 Vis 8km Sct 060 
Arrival Atis : 080/05 VRB 060/130 Vis 8km Sct 070 

Duration : 45 minutes

SUMMARY
 The weather was extremely hazy in the morning and looked like it was going to continue for the rest of the day, but as I haven't flown for over 2 weeks I decided to drive to the airport and take a chance that it would brighten up by the time I arrived. The visibility was still only 8km when I got there but I decided to fly a short local trip.
My wife haven't flown with me for 7 months due to her accident (another story) and as I was quickly running out of passengers we agreed that she would be well enough to fly and hope it would be alright.    
Took off at 12:35 after I had completed all my checks and headed for Newport in the haze. Spent 20 minutes just going nowhere fast and then headed back for Cardiff.
The visibility was a lot worse on the way back.   
Cleared Cardiff Docks Arrival and downwind for runway 12, had to be on the lookout for a Warrior turning crosswind but spotted it fine. Then told to report before left base due to a Ryanair 737 on the approach, had to orbit at the end of the downwind leg for spacing. Told to report final number 2 to the 737 so I orbited once more to let the nasty wake turbulence disperse and proceeded to do one of the worse approaches I have ever done. WAAAAAY too high on approach and landed a third of the way down Cardiff's 2,700 metre runway. The landing wasn't too bad though. 
Brakes Off 12:35 - Brakes On 13:20.  

Wednesday 18th September

Trip Planned : Cardiff - Newport

Passenger : Mark Hanbury

Departure Atis : 060/16 Vis 25km Few 030 Sct 045 
Arrival Atis : 060/14  Vis 25km Few 030 Sct 045 

Duration : 35 minutes

SUMMARY
I made a bad decision to fly today. My passenger has never flown before and was VERY nervous, but I assured him that it would be ok and the wind wasn't too bad. WRONG. 
Carried out the pre-flight checks and Mark was reading the checklist with me to ensure I didn't miss anything, he was also checking every nut and bolt and did not have a lot of confidence that the plane would get off the ground. I should have cancelled the flight but I selfishly carried on because I wanted to fly.
Cleared for take off and during the climb I was being buffeted about a lot and it got very gusty when I turned crosswind, Mark was very quiet and I continually asked him if he was ok to continue, he said he was.
Flew towards Newport and I climbed to 2,500 feet were it was a little calmer, flew around for a while and then headed back to Cardiff, tried to keep my bank angle at 15% so as not to scare him any more for I could see he was very frightened.
Cleared Cardiff Docks Arrival and heard that a 737 was on approach so I knew  Ithat I would be told to orbit, which I didn't want to do. Reported downwind and as expected was told to orbit at the start of the base leg, so I did 3 orbits while I was being buffeted about, Mark was now gripping the seat and was clearly crapping himself, I then turned final and did a fairly good landing considering the crosswind. Parked up and shut down. Mark said he enjoyed about 2 minutes of the whole experience but said he would go with me again WHEN IT'S NOT SO WINDY.
Brakes Off 14:15 - Brakes On 14:50.   

Thursday 26th September

Trip Planned : Cardiff - Newport

Passenger : Michael Lewis

Departure Atis : 320/11 Vis 18km Few 030 Bkn 045 
Arrival Atis : 320/14  Vis 20km Bkn 040 

Duration : 40 minutes

SUMMARY
I took my workmates father flying today in what was a routine flight to Newport and back. The weather was slightly cloudy and we encountered a rain shower on the return but apart from that it was very routine and he enjoyed the flight.
Cleared Cardiff Docks Arrival and right base number 1 for runway 30. Very good approach and landing.
Brakes Off 13:55 - Brakes On 14:35.

Monday 21st October

Trip Planned : Cardiff - Bridgend

Passenger : Jamie Owen

Departure Atis : 170/06 Vis 08km -SHRA Few 014 Sct 020 Bkn 035 
Arrival Atis : As Departure

Duration : 30 minutes

SUMMARY
I intended to take young Jamie flying yesterday but the weather was awful so we re-arranged the flight for today. The weather once again looked very dodgy in the morning and I thought we would have to cancel again, but it cleared up lovely by mid-day so I made the journey to the airport hoping for some lovely flying conditions so Jamie would enjoy the experience. We got to the airport and the weather took a turn for the worse so I changed the destination from Bridgend to Newport because the weather looked better to the North East.
We did the pre-flight checks and taxied to the holding point when the heavens opened and visibility was down to 6km. Although I knew Jamie would be bitterly disappointed I thought it would be best to call off the flight and return another day. I returned to the flying club totally fed up.
Went back inside and checked the forecast but it seemed unlikely we would fly today so we went upstairs. I decided to check the weather once more before calling it a day and it had improved slightly to 8km visibility which would be good enough for circuits. So once more we climbed in the plane and I taxied to the runway all the time keeping an eye on the weather. It was clearing up so off we went and took off into the circuit. Jamie was the most enthusiastic passenger I have taken flying and never stopped asking questions about the controls, the instruments, the length of the runway and everything else about aviation. I did 3 routine circuits and had 3 pretty good landings when I decided to finish because once more the weather was going to win. I know he enjoyed the flight because he couldn't stop grinning as we were walking back to the flying club. Flying is much more enjoyable when you have a passenger such as Jamie and lets hope the weather is better next time we fly.
Brakes Off 14:05 - Brakes On 14:35.   

Saturday 9th November

Trip Planned : Cardiff - Newport

Passenger : Jason Kelly

Departure Atis : 150/05 Vis 17km Few 015 Bkn 020 
Arrival Atis : 160/06  Vis 5km Bkn 010 

Duration : 25 minutes

SUMMARY
Jason, who is a student pilot with 22 hours, and I intended to fly to the Newport area and as he is used to flying I was going to practice a forced landing, some steep turns and low flying exercises while he worked the radio. We took off and headed towards Newport but the weather got dramatically worse very quickly. The visibility reduced from 17km to 5km in a matter of minutes so I decided to head back to Cardiff and fly some low level circuits instead. I headed back to the airport under a worsening drizzle and I could just make out Barry Docks which was my turning point for the circuit. Cleared Cardiff Docks Arrival, left hand downwind number 2. As we were in the circuit the visibility was appalling so I decided not to do circuits and landed.  
Brakes Off 12:55 - Brakes On 13:20.

Tuesday 3rd December

Trip Planned : Circuits

Passenger : Solo

Departure Atis : 290/09 Vis 18km Few 030 Bkn 050 
Arrival Atis : As Departure

Duration : 25 minutes

SUMMARY
I just performed 3 solo circuits to keep my licence current. I shared the circuit with a student who was doing some consolidation work so I ensured I kept my distance from him. Very routine flight and 3 good circuits and landings.
Brakes Off 14:10 - Brakes On 14:35.   

Thursday 19th December

Trip Planned : Circuits

Passenger : Solo

Departure Atis : 080/13 CAVOK 
Arrival Atis : As Departure

Duration : 25 minutes

SUMMARY
This flight was once again just going to be solo circuits to keep me current during the awful Winter weather. I did my pre-flight checks and the wind seemed to be a lot stronger and gustier than the 13 knots given by the ATIS. 
Took off and flew a relatively good circuit although my landing was a bit dodgy due to the crosswind but nothing dangerous. Went back into the circuit once more and was being buffeted about a little by the wind but decided to carry on as it was nothing I couldn't cope with and performed another dodgy landing. Third circuit was flown well and on final the wind was given as 070/16, about 50 foot from touchdown I experienced the worse wind-shear I have ever know in my 96 hours of flying. The left wing dipped and I gained about 100 foot and the speed increased. Very glad it was an updraft because a downdraft from that height could have made for an interesting landing to say the least. Managed to gain control and land safely and warned the aircraft behind me about the windshear on final. He also experienced it and landed about half way down the runway.
I shutdown and for the first time ever was glad to be on the ground. 
Brakes Off 14:50 - Brakes On 15:15.   

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