So 2024 didn’t exactly work out the way I had planned it… I had set myself the goal of re-attaining first solo by the end of the year (which would have also meant I needed to pass the Air Law exam). However, for various reasons I was unable to make progress towards this goal.

But 2025 is a new year and a new opportunity to re-start my flying training. The pause in my training last year meant I was able to save up a little money which will be hugely beneficial for my training this year. My next flying lesson is scheduled later this month – weather permitting I expect it will be an optimal chance to refresh my knowledge and experiences before picking up where I left off.

Speaking of which, I thought it would be good to provide a bit of detail on where I’m currently at in my aviation journey.

My experience so far

I’ve previously mentioned that I completed a flying scholarship in the Air Cadets which took me up to first solo. That was over a decade ago and since then I have been able to amass only 5 hours flying. Due to the large gap in training time, my 5 hours since have been recapping things like: stalling, turning onto headings, climbing, descending and circuits. On top of all this, I have also been getting familiar with the Cessna C150.

New Aircraft

The Cessna C150 is similar to the previous aircraft I have trained on as it is a 2 seat training aircraft with good handling characteristics. The aircraft I am currently learning on is also capable of mild aerobatics! There are however two key differences between the C150 and the Grob G115 I flew during my time in Air Cadets: the wing position and the control column.

Wing position

The C150 is a very popular training aircraft that thousands of pilots have trained on. Much like a lot of Cessna aircraft, it has a distinctive high-wing design. This enables some great views of the ground when flying and also means it’s great for seeing what position the wing flaps are in.

But it causes the aircraft to behave slightly different to the low-wing aircraft I’ve flown before like the G115. When changing flap positions and throttle settings, the low- and high-wing aircraft show a slightly different picture out of the window. This has been hard to adjust to as a very low hour pilot in training as I have been taught to fly with reference to the picture out of the windshield (which indicates the aircraft’s attitude).

Control column

The second notable difference is the control column on the C150. Which, typical of a light Cessna aircraft, is a yoke. All the aircraft I have flown previously have had a control stick (i.e. joystick) to control the aircraft. Despite this difference however, I have been surprised at how intuitive it has been to adjust to a yoke’s control movement.

Looking forward

As we approach the lighter evenings and (hopefully) better weather that spring here in the UK brings, I am looking forward to re-starting my flight training with a renewed focus. Let’s see what the next few flying lessons bring!

CBP ✈️