The most recent lessons have focused on climbing and descending, which felt like a natural continuation from straight and level. This is where things started to come together, and I had the chance to put more of the fundamentals into practice.
One of the key points was learning how to manage attitude. Greg reminded me that the idea is the same as in straight and level: set the attitude and then hold it. In the climb that meant lifting the nose to the right pitch, and in the descent it meant lowering it smoothly without chasing the instruments. To help with that, Greg suggested picking a static object on the horizon as a visual reference, which made it much easier to hold the right line without overthinking.
Trimming played an even bigger part in these lessons. For long climbs and descents, trimming properly meant I could take the pressure off the controls and focus on what the aircraft was doing. At first it still felt slightly unnatural, but I could see why it was so important. Once the aircraft is trimmed correctly it almost feels like it flies itself, and that frees up mental space for everything else.
I was also introduced to using carburettor heat. The idea is to prevent carb icing, which can reduce power and catch you out when you least expect it. Greg made sure I understood when to apply it and why, especially during descents when power is reduced and the risk is higher. It was another example of how every small control has a safety purpose behind it.
Another new routine was the FREDA check. Fuel, Radio, Engine, Direction and Altitude. It felt like a lot to think about at first, but Greg explained that these in-flight checks are what keep you ahead of the aircraft and make sure nothing is being overlooked. As with the checklists on the ground, it is about discipline and building good habits early.
This was also the first time I learned about the PAT and APT techniques. PAT stands for Power, Attitude, Trim, which is used in the climb. You set the power, set the attitude, and then trim to relieve the pressure. APT is Attitude, Power, Trim, used in the descent. Lower the nose for the descent attitude, reduce the power, and then trim. Having these simple sequences gave me a clear structure to follow, rather than guessing at what order to do things in.
A big highlight was starting to practice proper lookout for other traffic. It is one thing to know you should keep scanning the skies, but another to actually do it while flying and holding attitude. I’ve had drilled into me that lookout is as important as anything else I am doing inside the cockpit, and its quickly become part of my routine.
The lesson finished on a high point, quite literally, as I did my first landing into runway 24. I had been nervous about it, but the approach came together smoothly, and the touchdown was better than I expected. In fact, it was one of those landings you describe as “butter”. For a first attempt, that felt like something to be genuinely proud of.
Each of these lessons is adding more detail and more workload, but it is also giving me the satisfaction of seeing how all the pieces fit together. Holding attitude, trimming properly, using carb heat, running FREDA checks and applying PAT or APT are starting to become habits rather than isolated tasks. Slowly, it is beginning to feel like real flying.
Modular Pilot Kiran 