CPL ME IR

Friday was FINALLY the big day....The Final CPL ME IR check. (Commercial Pilot License check) Thé check of all checks for my training. I don't have to mention that I was pretty nervous, do I? Two years I worked for that flight, two years I worked for those 2 nerve racking hours and 12 minutes.

At 0605 I took the train and I arrived at EBAW (Antwerp) 1h30 later. The usual stuff to-do followed: weather, notams, calculating the Mass and Balance, calculating the headings/time/time ticks for my VFR flight plan/navigation, filing a IFR flight plan for EBCI (Charleroi), calling EBCI tower to ask them of it was possible to come and shoot a couple approaches at 1130LT. They gave me a slot at 1200 LT and when I was done with everything I went downstairs to the C-hangar. I did the walk-around and dropped my 4 little pillows on the left seat. I had to put the OO-SFA outside but I wasn't able to do it solo, nor did I actually want to take the risk to tow it outside by myself. Luckily two maintenance guys came by and they helped me push it outside. At 1030 LT I had to be in the restaurant of EBAW to meet my Examiner, Mr. Cabooter. A friendly and relaxed pilot. He checked all my documents - student pilot license, medical and logbook - and asked me a couple questions about the approaches we are going to do. When we arrived at the plane two groups of primary school kids - who were on a guided tour at the airport - stood around my plane. One of the little girls said, "look, it's a girl who will fly!" I gave the girl a wink of my eye and did again a quick walk around, just to check of I still had my two wings, two engines and three wheels.

Because my slot was at 1200LT in Charleroi, my examiner decided to let me first do the ILS approach in Antwerp to loose some time. The approach wasn't bad, and I continued with my IFR navigation. To win myself some time and free hands to prepare myself for the other approaches, I put the flight plan in the GPS and with one push the autopilot was on. (only for the en route part) The ILS approaches in EBCI was good as well and when I got vectors for the VOR approach the examiner pulled an engine. I recovered immediately but was cursing in myself because I still had to go 12 DME outbound to intercept the final approach course and flying on one engine is very heavy, especially if you are like me too small and if you can't reach the rudders very well. The rudder trim helped a bit, but not completely. Till now I never did a good single engine approach because of the heaviness but I think the adrenaline of the check helped. My leg didn't start to shake, I was able to keep my heading and I didn't drop more as 20 feet, which I recovered easily. The VOR approache went very smooth and I was not the only one who was a bit surprised. After the touch and go, I smiled secretly when the examiner made a comment about the good approach.

The most scared I was for the IFR part of the check, but it was the VFR part that didn't went as good as I hoped. I first had to go to the point 'Yankee', but to find a point in Belgium is not that easily as in Arizona. Let us say, VFR navigations in AZ are very cool, pretty easy once you are used to them and relaxed. To do VFR navigations in Belgium however...everything looks the freaking same here! And If you have a low ceiling or rain, you are screwed. Anyway, to continue, EBCI - who knew it was a check and knew I was 'on my own' in the plane - helped a bit by 'whispering' a heading and a distance to find Yankee. I recovered and followed my flight plan. Then it was time for some maneuvers. Two stalls and a steep turn, which was like always better too the right side. Back in Antwerp for the visual pattern I had to follow one of the VLM Fokkers for a flapless landing. The fokker's pattern was of course a bit bigger then mine and when turning final I saw that my speed was to high. I thought it was just because I didn't had my flaps, but when I started to say out loud my landing checklist I knew why my speed was to high. "Gear Down, three gre..." Sh*t, no green lights!!! My landing gear! I pulled my landing gear out and the speed dropped. I could have hit myself! ONLY, ONLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!! on a check you "forget" to put the gear down. Thanks for the checklists! I was very glad I was on a extended final and I still had to cover some distance. I established the approach and made a nice landing.

Back in the restaurant Mr. Cabooter gave me a short debriefing. Meanly he said "you are to small for that aircraft and that I was lucky that I saw in time that my landing gear wasn't down. When he said, "Congratz you passed", it felt like 1000000 tons fell off my shoulders.

The whole way back I had a smile that reached till my ears and when I arrived home, the champagne was already cold :-)

happy flights everybody!!!!