Yesterday myself and James from ‪@ATCAJAMES‬ took a PA38 out into the visual circuit. The day itself was an interesting one starting with heavy rain and low cloud which was replaced by a sunny but gusty afternoon. This was a real challenge flying the visual circuit maneuverer with gusts right on the maximum crosswind allowed for our operations.
I flew one touch and go followed by a full stop landing. both of which flown in the flapless configuration with an approach speed around 10 knots higher than the full flap target of 70 knots. This allows for better handling and easier recovery from any windshear or harsh gusts, of which there were a few. The second approach was also flown on a higher than normal descent profile as we were following an easyJet A320. Even at the recommended following distance of 5NM, you can still encounter wake turbulence, so when landing on a longer runway, such as 27 at Liverpool, it is sometimes desirable to land a bit deeper into the runway and overfly any nasty wake vortices.
Given that this was my first flight in a few weeks, and my first in strong crosswind in a few months, I am quite happy with the circuits flown. I hope you enjoy the video, hopefully next time we'll be able to use a mount for the GoPro for a slightly more stable viewing experience.
ALL FOOTAGE CAPTURED BY THE NON-FLYING OBSERVER IN THE RIGHT SEAT
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