The magic that is Holland in the Spring

It's been a busy few days this past week. I've not flown this much in such a short space of time since flight school!! This is the time of year that Holland looks her best, and especially when viewing Mother Natures majesty from above. It's as though she has cast her wand over this wind swept flat land and turned it into a carpet of colour, each one individually exquisite. But the life of a Dutch tulip is short lived because man soon comes along to chop it's pretty little head off. 

For those of you who are aghast at this inhumane treatment of the poor defenceless tulip, fear not. It's because of the decapitation that the plant can put its energies into making the bulb grow fatter, rather than spending it on the high maintenance energy hungry flower. And the tulips growing in the fields will be harvested and sold to you and I so we can grow them and enjoy them in our own gardens.

But today was all about admiring their beauty from above. It's one thing to cast your eye across a tulip field from the ground, and quite another to see them from the air. And I had the pleasure of doing this pretty much all weekend long. I took a colleague up in Nippy first. He's new to flying in light aircraft, but had dabbled on Flight Sim before, so he had an idea of the basics. I let him steer us over towards Amsterdam whilst I negotiated with the boys at Schiphol Tower to let us into the Amsterdam sector for a spot of "I can see my hotel from here" before moving on to the delicate procedure of passing overhead Schiphol itself en-route to Lisse.

The negotiations successfully concluded, we carried out a few orbits of the city and then headed over towards Schiphol. I was asked to fly towards the threshold of runway 24 (I assume to avoid runway 18C which was being used by landing traffic, and therefore to keep clear of them in the event that they boltered and carried out a missed approach) and to wait for their call for heading change. Eventually the call came to route direct Lisse which meant I managed to fly right over my house :-) Yes, I let out a "I can see my house from here" to my colleague sat next to me :-)

By the time we arrived on station over Lisse, my colleague was struck in awe. I heard lots of "wow" and "amazing" in between his clicking away at the camera. Schiphol asked me to keep clear of their airspace as the lunchtime rush was now in full effect. So that meant routing North along the coast and across the Noord Holland peninsula back to Lelystad. The fun bit was mixing it up with the big iron which were about 1000ft above us descending into Schiphol.

The next flight was Easter Monday. A new photographer had found this very blog and the photo's from last year and asked me if I could take him up on Easter Monday. He was driving up from Belgium with another friend of his, so I booked a C172 for the mission and agreed on a time. That time came and went sadly, due to a Numpty who was late leaving, then went to the wrong fuel dump to refuel and decided to eat into MY booked flying time just because he was late and got lost of the airfield. I was allowed extend my flight by 30mins to make up for the time I lost, so without haste we were off.

A call to Curtis, my photographer friend from the US and the man in the know when it comes to all things tulips told me the night before to avoid Lisse and head for Anna Paulowna and Julianasdorp...."Clay it's wall to wall tulips there all the way to the coast" he told me in his inimitable Louisiana accent. Well, that would certainly avoid the Schiphol CTR headaches, on the other hand, I still have a military airbase to contend with. I called them up the day before and was told it shouldn't be a problem.

The GPS decided right before our flight to run out of power, and as luck would have it, the 172 I was flying had not cigarette power adaptor. So I was going to have to do this the old fashioned way....VOR beacon and the Mark 1 eyeball to figure out where I was.

We were soon overhead Venhuizen and Normann was giving me directions on where he wanted to go. This meant of course that the navigation was going to be a challenge. I not only had to know where I was in relation to De Kooy's class CHARLIE airspace, but I knew of a gliding club and an ultralight airfield all within close proximity to each other and where I was currently at. Damn you GPS!!!

Once I was happy we were clear and safe from traffic, I dropped down to 700ft and slowed down to about 70-80kts. The boys opened the windows up to stick out their lenses and began snapping away feverishly. Their tulip field fix being met :-) I gave Dutch Mil a call to let them know I wanted to enter De Kooy's control zone. We stayed south of the airport and remained in and around the areas of Schagen and Anna Paulowna.

With the boys happy and their cameras full to bursting with Mother Natures splendour on show, we climb back up to 1,200ft and powered up to 110kts for the flight back to Lelystad. Curtis, was right on the money. And the season's not over yet!

In a fix, Squawk 76

We're level at 1,000ft just past Hoofddorp and I'm setting the plane up for low and slow flight overhead Lisse....when it happens. The radios made a "plink!" noise and they're all dead. The transponder was still working, so I dial in 7600 to let ATC know that I have no radios.

I'm in a bit of a bind now because today's mission was to take the Internal Auditors who were over from the U.S. auditing my company up to see the beauty of the tulip fields from the air. But now I'm right on the fringes of Schiphol's CTR with no radios.....and now no Transponder....that's just gone and died too.

OK, first things's first.....I need to get us out of Dodge and quickly. Once clear we head west to the coastline. I'm going to have to take the long way round to get back. Even if the radios come back alive, I doubt that Schiphol Tower will let me back in in case they died again, and I also don't trust them to stay alive. I have full fuel tanks so it's a no brainer to decide on the safest route along the coast and cut across the north end of Schiphol's approach.

Much earlier, I was thinking about the last time I transitioned from "Nippy" to a Cessna 172. I remember the senstation that the Cessna was like flying a truck with wings when comparing it to "Nippy". But amazingly this particular C172 is VERY light on the controls. Not sure which version it is, but looking at the log book she's an old bird....almost 10,000 hours logged on her. But she's it great shape and well looked after.

I've checked all the fuses, nothing has blown or tripped, I have no "low voltage" warning light and all the fuel gauges and giros are working....so it's not an electrics problem. It's isolated to the avionics. This particular C172 has the Garmin GNS 430, which means that the GPS and radios are coupled. It has a spare back-up radio, but neither of them are working. OK....I'll try recycing the avionics.....nope, still nothing. OK, nevermind.

We're abeam Ijmuiden and I can see the steelmill below me to the right. A quick look at the chart and I could zip under Schiphol's CTR here are 1,000ft....the base of the Class "C" is 1,200. But I opt to continue north a wee bit further until I'm well clear. Since the transponder doesn't work, I do not want to risk tangling with a 737 on finals for Schiphol.

Since most pilots are stubborn and never give up, I continue to recycle the avionics....and eventually my stubborness pays off....first the transponder returns to life, followed by the navigation instruments and the the Garmin and back-up radio......PHEW!!

Amsterdam Info informs me they can hear me loud and clear and they welcome me back. They must have seen me on their primary radar the whole time, but the voice of a familiar controller is music to my ears. I explained to her what had happened and told her I was routing to Lelystad.

Passing south of the field, I called overhead "BRAVO" and set us up for the circuit. My head has the power and speed settings for the 172 memorised.....my instructor would quiz me on the speeds every morning when he picked me up for flight lessons. So it was a matter of slotting into the circuit and pulling off a smooth landing. Sadly, the landing was a little laboured, and we hit with a bit of a bump....I just hope that's not reflected in the results of the audit :-)

Making the best of the sunshine

As I mentioned at the end of my last blog post, Curtis seemed keen to get up again for another sortie, only this time he wanted to go up in a plane that would let him stick his camera out the window. The solution was a simple one. We would go up in one of Polder's C150's and he could snap away to his hearts content.

The only difference with today's sortie was the choice of venue. Whereas the previous flights had been around the Flevopolder, Curtis had recce'd the areas around Lisse and Noordwijk. The only concerns I had about Lisse were managing the approvals with Schiphol to pass through their CTR (control zone) on the day, and then once we got to Lisse, making sure I stayed OUT of their control zone. Lisse is right on the edged of the CTR and can easily result in an infringement if you don't keep an eye on where you are at every given moment.

A quick call to Schiphol in the morning confirmed that it wouldn't be a problem to pass through, given the time of day we planned to be up in the air. And the airspace all in all was much quieter. Far fewer GA pilots out and about enjoying the sunshine. Our plane today was PH-ALI and was sitting all washed and cleaned on the apron. A quick refuel and safety briefing and of course checking that the windows opened for Curtis and we were off.

There was almost no wind and the "ALI" was simply cutting through the air. The fastest speed I noticed was 112kts. That's the fastest I've ever got from a C150!! I called Schiphol tower just after leaving Lelystad and was given a Squawk code and the local QNH settings. But Schiphol called when we were just overhead Almere and said they had not altitude read from our transponder. After fiddling with it, the solution was to just switch it off and then switch it back on. That seemed to work.

We were asked to Squawk 0060 and to report when entering the CTR. Ten minutes later and we were overhead the two large towers at Ijburg and I reported back to ATC. They asked me to steer direct to the Control Tower via Badhoevedorp. When I had reached the suburbs of Amsterdam they changed their instructions and asked me to head for the Mexx building on the A10. That meant a quick 180 degree turn to the left, by which time they gave another steering heading which would bring us right alongside the control tower. The best bit was their instructions to descend to 500ft :-)

We buzzed the tower and steered west to overfly Hoofddorp and eventually exited the CTR right over Lisse. The next 20 minutes or so was spent circling the many fields, watching from traffic and trying to make sure that wherever Curtis wanted to photograph did not mean I was venturing into Schiphol's CTR without their permission.

It took us just a few minutes to figure out the best line to take for the best angle, and of course to avoid the strong sunlight, but it was a lot of fun steering to each field and then circling it and off to the next. It was almost like being a bumble bee who buzzs from one flower to the next.

The route back was less complicated than the route in. We overflew Hoofddorp again and then straight on to Amsterdam city centre. I managed to get some photo's of my house from the air, a first for me, and we did a few orbits of the city centre before heading back across the water towards Almere. I thanked the folks in Schiphol Tower for their cooperation and then got ready for another smooth landing back on Terra Firma. All in all another great flight and of course, Curtis was well pleased with the photo's he managed to capture.

Tulip Fields/BBQ Extravaganza!!!

A few months ago, I received a very pleasant, but unexpected surprise as a result of my blog. I received an email from a really nice family who found my photo's on the internet. It turns out that one of the tulip fields I flew over and photographed last year was one of their fields. They are tulip growers living not far from where I live and they emailed me to find out more about how I took the photo's. We exchanged several emails and I was invited to visit their greenhouse to learn all there is to know about growing tulips, and when we said our goodbyes we were presented with the freshest bouquet of tulips as a gift, straight from the grower himself. 

I regaled stories of my flying adventures, and waxed lyrical about my joy and love of flying and I invited them to come and join me on a tulip hunting adventure in April. The initial plan was to go flying the Sunday that the horrendously named Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted and all the airspace was shut solid. Unlike my friends in the UK who were happily buzzing Gatwick and Manchester airports, everyone in Holland was grounded.

But in the meantime, I had another pleasant surprise. Once again, out of the blue, a professional photographer had found my blog and wanted to go tulip hunting. GREAT!!! The more the merrier. Curtis, my new photograper friend, and I exchanged a few emails and it turned out he was planning to come to Holland the same weekend I had pushed back the initial tulip flight to, so I suggested he join us that same day. 

Then Marina met a couple from her homeland of Ukraine and after a few glasses of wine when we all made our acquaintances, she announces I am a pilot, to which we recieved the obligatory "COOOOL" response. Marina told them about the planned tulip flights and instantly they asked "Can we come too??". Suddenly my dream of my own airline (aptly named Pendair) doesn't quite seem like an unobtainable dream :-)

Finally, our best friends, Andrew and Angelina, joined us for a boat cruise around Waterland in Noord Holland and we talked about the tulip weekend. And yes, you guessed it, they were hooked too. That's three plane loads of people all booked for Sunday. I made a quick call to Wouter in Polder Aviation and he said I could have their new C177 Cardinal for the afternoon from 2pm, BUT, I would need a check-out ride in it first. No problem....well, only one, but it's a minor one....I would have to be there at 9am for the check-ride, and then wait until 2pm for everyone to arrive. A small sacrifice to pay.

With so many people planned to come flying, Marina thought about having another BBQ flying day, similar to the one late last Summer. GREAT IDEA. We called everyone and they all agreed it was a great idea. So we agreed Marina and I would arrange the food and drinks and bring our portable BBQ. We set off for Makro (the local cash and carry) and bought all the provisions and then some and Marina marinated everything the night before. The BBQ was on for Sunday.

Then the first snag, of many, made it's appearance. Our tulip growing friends were not able to make it. They were really excited about coming, but unfortunately would not be able to join us and asked to take a rain cheque to another time. Fear not.....Angelina and Andrew mentioned on Facebook about their upcoming adventure, and that got others asking if they could come along, so once again the planes were fully booked :-)

The plan was for everyone to meet at Lelystad at 13:00. Marina and I loaded the car the night before, I made my way to the airport bright and early to get checked out and Marina would follow at 13:00 and me me and everyone else there.

That's when the second snag made it's appearance. Keep in mind that it's been a full six months, yes, count them, one, two, three, four, five, six, since I last flew, which was when I flew "NP" down to France for her annual. I have been unable to get her since (snow storms in Europe this Winter, volcanos in Iceland) and had shied away from renting anything if I was flying alone. Now also bear in mind that I'm flying in a new airplane type, which has several key handling differences, one of the biggest being that a) it's got a less powerful engine, b) has an all moveable elevator (an elevon) and c) has an ASI (airspeed indicator) in MPH instead of KTS which means a new set of speeds to memorise, and you can see where I'm going with this. A rusty pilot in a new plane is not exactly a successful mix.

Eelco, my instructor arrived and briefed me on the differences between the Cessna 177 I was about the fly, and the C172 I know so well. We refuelled and started her up and off we flew. The check-out would consist of the usual few steep-turns, stalls, practised forced landings and touch and go's. The first few steep turn exercises were a bit all over the place. Given there was so much haze and not much of a horizon, it was difficult to begin with, but I got it nailed eventually. Then we practiced stalls. Stall recovery in landing configuration was good, but stall recovery in a clean configuration and fully stalled were a bit slow in the beginning. Eventually I got the drill down perfectly though. We then headed to the field and Eelco pulls the throttle to idle "Engine Failure" he says. OK, run through the drill, look for a field. Since we weren't very high to begin with, I had to get her to V BG (best glide) quickly and then look for a suitable field even quicker. The first attempt was criticised because I chose a field that would have had a tail wind instead of a head wind. A new nugget which I NEVER considered, and I'm shocked I was never told about it before, was to look at the windmills and where they are pointing to figure out the wind direction and THEN choose a suitable field. The second attempt was carried out flawlessly.

That done, we headed back for the circuit to practise landings. That's when it all went a bit tits up. Getting the set-up in the plane in the downwind took a lot of practice. I ended up being too low in the downwind, over compensating, then getting too high on final. Then when I flared, I was over controlling with the elevator and we had to go-around after a baulked landing. Second attempt I was a bit better with the altitude but was way too fast on final. Third and fourth attempts I was better with speed and height, but wasn't spot-on with compensating for the cross-wind. The last attempt was a total greaser. Perfectly executed and was greeted by a loud "YESSSS!!!" from Eelco in the P2 seat. "THAT'S what I want you to do each and every time!!". We ran out of time and made that the last one and agreed to do two more later that morning. If they went OK, then I would be signed off. Phew...The rust is starting to flake off :-)

Everyone arrived at 13:00 on time. The plane was for our new Ukrainian friends, Maks and Tanya, to come fly first. Marina took everyone else to the woods to set-up the BBQ. I got up again and managed two more greasers and went in to sign the paperwork. While we waited I showed Maks and Tanya around the hangers of Lelycopter's and introduced them to Albert, one of the pilots there. A short 15 mins later and we were in the plane and ready to go tulip hunting.

Maks was all questions and excitement. Tanya was all smiles and big eyes. We took off and headed straight for the nearest tulips fields in the Flevo polder. I gave Maks the controls for a few mins and had to keep repeating to him not to be afraid to actually turn the plane, and to stop climbing or descending. The landing though with a full load was a little different than the last greaser I pulled off with Eelco and we bounced a little bit upon landing. I was so PISSED with myself, because as all pilots know, everyone who is NOT a pilot judges a pilot on his flying skills solely on how well/bad he lands the plane! D'oh!! We had flown for about 50 minutes. By the time we had landed, Marina, the amazing logistics planner for the day already sent the next batch over.

Now it was the turn of Andrew, Angelina and Curtis. Andrew had planned on sitting up front and flying, but Curtis needed the use of that seat for his tulip photo's. Andrew kindly gave up the seat on the proviso that he sit up front on the next lift. We took off and again headed all over the polder. Andrew brought along with him his portable GPS device and tracked the entire flight. At home later that evening he downloaded the data and sent me the track overlayed on a map of the Netherlands. This time I ventured a bit further South to Naarden. By now the skies were getting VERY busy. We had traffic off to our left about 200-300 feet higher. I have no idea if he saw me, so I gave him a wide berth and had Andrew help keep an eye on him. We circled Naarden, everyone snapping off like the paparazzi and headed back for more tulip fields. Curtis and I were getting the hang of figuring out the best line to take for everyone to take pics and we circled a few fully bloomed fields several times. Alas though the fun had to come to an end and we headed back. But the tulip fields just kept on giving...there so many more on the route into the circuit, so everyone was happy. This time though the landing was as smooth as silk :-) Having said that, Angelina looked a LITTLE bit green as it had turned a little turbulent as the heat of the day resulted in a lot of thermal activity. But she still enjoyed her flight.

Curtis wanted directions to the tulip field near the run in to the circuit, so off he went to photograph from the ground. Andrew had to drive back to pick up the girls for the next flight, so I relaxed and chewed the cud with the guys in Polder, trading war stories. When Andrew came back they came bearing gifts.....a gorgeous burger, cooked by my gorgeous Marina. Pendair has now graduated to in-flight catering :-)

Once again, everyone climbed in, a quick taxi to the active and we were off. This time though we were getting pressed for time. Wouter needed the plane back soon and I wanted to make the most of the daylight. Andrew took over the controls and flew the girls around the Polder. I kept a sharp eye on any potential traffic and also made sure we stayed below the Schiphol TMA. I have to say that Andrew did an amazing job flying. All those hours mucking around on Microsoft Flight-Sim had paid off. He knew what all the dials were, he knew what to expect from the handling of the plane, just was not used to the real sensation of flying. He nailed the altitude the whole time and eventually built up his confidence about "controlling" the plane and not being afraid of it biting back. I had him steer us back towards Bravo (the run point to the circuit at Lelystad) and took control about 2 mins out. Great job Andrew!!! Again, a good set-up resulted in a smooooooth landing and I was happy that the last of the rust on this pilot flaked off for good.

In all, I logged a little over 4 hours in the saddle, logged 10 landings and flew with 8 people yesterday. I was completely knackered, but in a good way. The highlight of the day was listening to everyone share their stories of the days experience and look at the amazing pics everyone had taken. And of course enjoying the efforts of my amazing Marina's BBQ while enjoying a few well earned COLD beers. 
 

Huge thanks to Andrew and Curtis for letting me use some of their photo's on my blog.

Seems like Curtis wants to go up again on Tuesday, so maybe I'll go up again!