Today’s lesson turned out to be one of the most memorable so far. The planned route was Denham → Amersham → Princes Risborough → Towcester → Tring → Amersham → Denham. The original plan was to continue building solo time in the circuit, and my partner Kelly had come along to capture some footage for the blog.
The day took an unexpected turn when I found out that Greg, my instructor from the start of training, was preparing to leave for a new position with easyJet, where he would soon begin his type rating course. I felt genuinely happy for him, but also a bit disappointed to be losing an instructor I had built such a good rapport with. Greg had given me a solid foundation and a lot of confidence as a student pilot.
Although I wasn’t scheduled to fly with him, Greg rearranged things so we could have one last flight together. As Kelly was with me, he suggested we do a navigation exercise instead of more solo circuits, and that I use a PA-28 so she could come along. I couldn’t believe it — this would be the first time Kelly had ever flown with me, let alone seen me take off.
She was nervous but excited, and to be fair, I think she handled it better than I would have in her position. I, on the other hand, had a lot to take in. I hadn’t planned a navigation route before or flown the PA-28, so we had to move quickly through the essentials. Greg gave me a crash course in flight planning, showing me how to plot the route on a map, mark waypoints, and estimate headings and times. We then did a walkaround of the aircraft and a quick introduction to the controls. Before I knew it, I was lined up on runway 24, about to take off with both Greg and Kelly on board.
The weather was gusty, and the air quite bumpy, which didn’t do much to calm Kelly’s nerves. She sat quietly in the back, and although she later admitted she was terrified, she stayed remarkably composed. Once we were airborne and en route, I realised how different navigation flying felt. I’d spent so long in the circuit that looking down and trying to identify towns and landmarks felt unfamiliar. Everything looked different from the air, and I had to work hard to orient myself.
I was still a bit nervous about radio calls, so Greg handled them while I focused on the flying. Thankfully, I recorded the lesson so I could listen back and learn from it later. Despite the workload, there were some incredible moments — the biggest being when we flew directly over Silverstone Circuit. Both Kelly and I are huge Formula 1 fans, so seeing it from above was a real highlight and completely unexpected. A small course deviation ended up giving us one of those special flying memories you don’t forget.
Before long we were overhead Towcester and heading back towards Denham. The weather picked up on the return leg, so Greg took control for the landing while I handled the taxi back to parking. Kelly looked relieved to be back on the ground, but for me it was an amazing experience. Being able to share that flight with her, and to do it with Greg before he moved on, made it a really meaningful day.
It reminded me why I’m doing all this in the first place. The navigation lesson was challenging, I felt out of my depth at times, but it fuelled my passion for flying. Seeing new places from the cockpit and realising what’s possible once you start leaving the circuit made me hungry for more.
Modular Pilot Kiran 