So you want to make rapid progress?? Graham Wharmbyfrom England was looking for a school that was open during the Christmas holidays 2004. Finding that virtually all our competitors were closed over this period (but not us), he decided to have a short break here to see what he could get achieved. Arriving on Christmas Eve afternoon, Graham had his first flight in the front seat on Christmas Day morning, only ever having flown as passenger before. After a lot of hard work, Graham achieved his first solo on New Year's Eve, just before midday! The timetable below shows Graham's progression through the excercises in the BMAA syllabus....

• Friday 24/12/04
• 12h00 - arrival at La Baule airfield
• afternoon unflyable due to low cloud
• Saturday Christmas Day
• 10h00 - excercises 1 and 2
• 12h45-13h45 - 1st flight, with excercises 1, 2, 3, 4 ,5, 6, 7, 8, and 9a/9b
• 16h25-17h40 - 2nd flight, with excercises 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9a/9b, and 10a/10b
• 20h00-20h20 - classroom - HPL exam - passed
• Sunday Boxing Day
• 10h45-11h55 - 3rd flight, with excercises 7, 8, 9a/9b, 10a/10b and 14
• 15h00-16h15 - 4th flight with excercises 10a/10b and 15
• 16h55-17h40 - 5th flight, with excercise 16b

• Monday 27/12/04
• 10h25-11h35 - 6th flight, with excercises 12, 13, and 14
• 14h55-15h35 - 7th flight, with excercises 12 and 13
• 19h00-20h15 - classroom - Aeroplanes Technical exam - passed
• Tuesday 28/12/04
• whole day unflyable due to strong winds
• 11h00-12h00 - classroom - Meteorology exam - passed
• Wednesday 29/12/04
• 11h10-12h40 - 8th flight, with excercises 12, 13, and 16a/16b
• 15h20-16h15 - 9th flight, with excercises 12, 13, 14, and 15
• Thursday 30/12/04
• morning unflyable due to low cloud
• 11h00-11h30 - classroom - Air Law exam - passed
• 16h00-17h10 - 10th flight with excercises 10a/10b, 12, and 13
• 17h30-18h00 - 11th flight with excercises 12 and 13 (pre-solo)
• Friday New Year's Eve
• 10h25-11h15 - 12th flight with excercises 12 and 13 (pre-solo)
• 11h55-13h15 - FIRST SOLO with local area flying exploring aircraft handling
• 15h10-16h20 - second solo with local area flying exploring out to the Northwest
• New Year's Day
• whole day unflyable due to low cloud/drizzle
• 18h30-20h00 - classroom studying for Navigation exam
• Sunday 2/1/05
• 11h30-13h00 - classroom - Navigation exam - passed
• 15h50-16h30 - 13th flight with Phil for revision
• 16h35-17h45 - third solo flight - navigation excercise towards Vannes
• 19h00 departure for England
•  

Here's Graham having just completed his pre-flight checks prior to taxying out for his first solo flight in our Mainair Scorcher...

Some minutes later, Graham can be seen taxying across the parking area on the way to the runway threshold for his first solo take-off - a nervous moment for any pilot...

...and below a very happy and relieved Graham after successfully completing his first solo landing exactly a week after his arrival!

During Graham's stay, he amassed 12h50min dual flying and 3h40min solo flying, as well as passing all five of his exams. Although Graham's week was pretty hectic, he still had some time to himself to explore the area a little, try out the restaurants and to have a couple of sessions of go- karting ! So, if you want to make real progress towards your licence, and enjoy yourself at the same time, why not get booked in with us as soon as possible??