Shimoda Pilot

This is what happens when a career logger turned blogger attempts to be vlogger - whilst flying a PA38 for the 6th time and first in 14 weeks. The results of my basic camera set up (sticky pad on dash), painfully fresh (plain poor) editing skills, and rusty flying skills are in. I won't lie to you, they're far from wonderful, probably a D - for disaster. Yet I'm really chuffed to have captured just a bit of my latest hour in the sky. The lesson itself was a mixed bag. To say

I'm going flying on Sunday! I'm so excited and I just can't hide it, I'm about to lose control and I think..... Sorry brain's got that garbage on loop! Yep I'm back in the PA38 on the weekend - weather permitting! It does have a habit here in west Wales of making a mockery of a fair forecast. Lesson 6 - more circuits, introduction of Go arounds, flapless and glide approach and landings are next in the syllabus. In the words of Dave Jones, my instructor, now we're really flyin

Summer officially started this week - must of done, it chucked it down! No, it's the start of summer for two reasons - 1; it featured the last day of planting for the season, and 2; Test match special returned. It's been a long winter. The wettest on record I believe - not good news for flying schools.....and tree planters. I remember thinking in mid Feb, (we start planting in October) I can't remember a day when heaven hasn't relieved itself on us. I threatened a while ago t

Yesterday we had planned to go say goodbye to Nain, my last surviving grandparent. Surviving being the operative word - it is her forte. Tenacity is a river that flows through the Gibbs family at a pace which is often bewildering to those who stand near it. The sole source of this torrent of tenaciousness is my family's incredible matriarch, Nain. At 89 she is mother to 5, Grandmother to 15 and Bear is her 19th great-grandchild. I cannot fully comprehend or articulate the har

Back to school last night, continuing Performance & Planning. The drive to Swansea airport was captivating, we have been blessed over the last few days with some incredible cloudscapes, a treat caused by this moment when spring decided it must go back to bed. Blue battled for space amongst burgeoning accumulations of nimbus and Strato, through it the evening sun sears and illuminates the depth and texture of the air and throws a warmth over the land that is leading me to our

I try, in life, to be objective. It is not an easy or natural trait, but I believe if you can be empathetic and objective of others and their judgements, you will have a far greater respect for your fellow man and, hopefully, they of you. In Early flight dreams I address the inherent desire I have to pursue a life of flying planes - it was born in me at a very early age, and I believe I recognised it strongly then. Later, and perhaps importantly, I lost sight of that intrinsi

Last night marked the end to my 3 week ground school hiatus. Cambrian flying school run a 2 hour lesson every Tuesday night. I missed Operational procedures as I had to concede that leaving Bella with our daughter and 20 hour old baby was a tad unfair. Here's the fantastic thing about learning - when you are passionate about the subject it becomes so much easier. Truthfully though, I enjoyed school back when it was secondary. It could've been a case of absence makes the heart