Anyone who’s started their PPL (Private Pilot Licence) training will know that while you’re learning to take control of an aircraft, you’re still very much at the mercy of the weather. That reality hit me this week when I turned up for my next flying lesson, ready to get into the air, only to have it cancelled due to a low cloud base.
The clouds were sitting stubbornly around 2000ft. While that might seem like plenty of room to the average person on the ground, for our lesson plan it just wasn’t enough. My instructor had planned to take us up to that very level to start introducing me to the basic principles of aircraft control: straight and level flight, gentle turns, climbs, and descents. These are foundational skills that form the bedrock of any pilot’s training, and they require a consistent, safe block of airspace to practice in with good visibility and minimal distractions from the weather.
Flying just below a 2000ft cloud ceiling wouldn’t have left us with the vertical room we needed to manoeuvre safely. In training, safety margins are paramount, especially at this early stage. The last thing you want while you’re still wrapping your head around the feel of the controls is to be worrying about flying into cloud or losing situational awareness.
Of course, it was disappointing. When you’ve spent the week looking forward to being back in the left-hand seat, but it’s part of the journey. On the bright side, I still got a chance to chat with my instructor about what’s coming next and review some of the theory behind the exercises we’ll be doing when the skies clear. There’s a silver lining in every cloud (pun intended), even the ones that cancel your lesson.
Here’s hoping for clearer skies next time and a chance to finally get hands-on with those primary flight controls.
Modular Pilot Kiran 