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I spend a day at Sandown airfield on the Isle of Wight and meet its eccentric airfield manager, Dan Subhani.

This video was made possible by the generosity of my Patreon and Supporters' club members and my sponsors.

Anglian War Birds.
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Pooleys Flight Equipment
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Disclaimer: I'm just a private pilot, sharing my real-world experiences.

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Music:
Epidemic Sound
https://www.epidemicsound.com/referral/ew4rsk/

My recording equipment
2 GoPro Hero 5 Black
3 GoPro Hero 4 Silver
1 GoPro Hero 3+
Sony AX53 camcorder
Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro G2
Tascam DR-05 audio recorder
Audio attenuator 40dB
3x GoPro suction cup mounts
MiPilotPro tie down mount

Ipad mount
RAM Ipad Mini 4 holder and Yoke mount.

Editing & Graphics:
FCPX
Apple Motion
Davinci Resolve

Voiceover: Rode NT USB microphone

Mapping:
SkyDemon

Welcome back to another Inside the Cockpit Q&A.

Today's we catch up with Virgin Atlantic's Captain Chris, who rose to Instagram fame after his 'Buy airline tickets like you bought toilet paper' post went viral!

Chris has been flying for 40 years and this video is packed FULL with career highlights, advice for future pilots, and top destinations to visit with Virgin Atlantic.

You can follow Chris on Instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/captainchris

I hope you like this video, please smash the thumbs up button, and leave me a comment as I would love to know what you think, or have any questions.

#pilot #airbus #a350 #interview

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YouTube Chapters
Feel free to skip through the video by clicking on the times below:
Introduction 00:00
How did you get into aviation? 00:28
Bring us up to date at Virgin Atlantic 05:46
Is now the toughest time in aviation? 06:20
What is it like to fly in a pandemic? 08:11
What do you think the aviation sector needs right now in the UK? 10:33
Buy airline tickets like you bought toilet paper! 11:42
Does your daughter help with your Instagram content? 15:05
What is your favourite destination to fly to? 17:51
What’s your favourite approach? 19:19
Can you turn everything off on an visual approach? 19:52
What’s your favourite feature of the Airbus A350? 20:29
How are the crew when they are returning back to work? 22:04
What advice would you give to someone who wants to be a pilot? 25:36
How would I stand out to Virgin Atlantic as a pilot? 28:40
What’s next for Captain Chris? 30:33
Have you ever flown with a pilot with cataracts? 31:22
When was the last time you were in a single engine prop? 32:16
Did you learn in a PA28 or Cessna? 33:00
What do you do on standby? 33:12

Recently I've been looking at the lack of activity in my logbook and the recent lockdowns and suspension of GA flying is not the only reason for this. Back in August 2020, I had surgery on my shoulder which meant my medical certificate had been suspended and my recovery has been long and slow.

As my entire left arm had been extremely weak since my surgery, I have been very conscious about taking a safety first approach and not jumping back into the cockpit before I was physically ready. With the hospital opening up for face to face physio appointments, this really helped with my mobility and building up more strength to a point where I felt comfortable to operate an aircraft.

The next step was to re-instate my medical certificate, I needed to complete a medical test flight with an examiner. On top of this my type rating had also expired and I had not completed enough hours in the 12 months before expiry to revalidate by experience, so I also needed to complete a licence proficiency check, which felt like taking my skills test again. The good news was that I could complete both of these tests in the same flight. So with COVID lockdown restrictions easing in I managed to get a slot with my examiner Andrew towards the end of April in one of the clubs latest additions to the fleet a Cessna 152 G-BMCN.

With no problems what so ever with my shoulder and passing the licence proficiency check, all I had to do was send a mountain of paperwork by email to the CAA and my AME. This was all sorted within a couple of weeks.

Although, I had a valid licence and medical, I was still extremely cautious about being too adventurous after nearly a year of not flying, and wanted to get back into the swing of things before venturing off on any longer land away flights or carrying passengers.

I booked the Cessna 152 on Sunday 9th May to get a bit of navigation practice and brush up on those take offs and landings. I am really glad I did this, as the winds were on the stronger side and Headcorn was busy with traffic, aerobatics, wing walking and skydiving.

So, where to plan a short navigation exercise? On a recent day off work, my wife and I took the kids for a day on the beach at Herne Bay, a place we have been to a number of times before and the kids absolutely love. But I have never seen it from the air. As Herne Bay is only 15 minutes flying time from Headcorn, it seemed the perfect location to get back into the swing of things.

I departed from runway 10 to the east making a slight left turn just after take off in the direction on Canterbury. Apart from having to take avoiding action when a PA28 got a bit too close for comfort when we approached the Ashford area the trip to Herne Bay was uneventful and with the visibility being so clear, there were no problems keeping on track despite the strong winds. I continued along the coast until reaching Whitstable before turning back inland heading back towards Headcorn.

As I got closer to Headcorn I changed to the A/G frequency where I requested the airfield information for my join and it was obvious that I was not the only one who had planned to go flying that day. The frequency was extremely busy with multiple aircraft all inbound at the same time. On top of that the parachute plane was dropping skydivers, there was aerobatic activity within the ATZ and model aircraft also being flown.

I managed to slot in on the downwind leg but things seemed to go a bit pear shaped from there. As I descended the approach became rather turbulent with the winds trying to push me off to the south. I wasn't happy with the approach and as I flared ready to touch down, I kept ballooning. The aircraft just didn't want to come down. I easily end up ballooning all the way down the runway, so decided the safest course of action was to go around and try again.

I am please I did. The second attempt was much more successful.

My 3rd circuit was another eventful one. I intend to land on this circuit and call it a day but as I turned base leg another aircraft decided to join on a straight in approach. Despite the radio call I made stating that I was turning base leg and a request from the A/G operator to give way to established circuit traffic, he still decided to proceed with his approach. This meant that there was very little spacing between us and slowing down as much as possible still didn't allow for enough spacing. The aircraft also seemed to take an age to vacated the active runway too.

With the aircraft still on the runway, this meant another go around. At least it meant a bit more circuit practice and dealing with these situations is all good experience to blow away the cobwebs.

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Note: I am not an instructor and these videos are for aviation enthusiasts to enjoy for entertainment purposes only. Please always consult a qualified instructor for advice.

A gorgeous day to be invited up as a passenger with my good friend Olivia, who's hours building towards her commercial. Our flight starts from Compton Abbas Airfield, to Seaton, and back along the coast, before returning to Compton. The GoPro failed at first so we pick up the flight around 20 minutes in...

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#ComptonAbbas #Seaton #Flying

We depart the beautiful grass runway at Charlton Park routing over to London Biggin Hill in the Cirrus SR20. It was fantastic to be back flying with Echelon Air Flight Training, if you're interested in flying a Cirrus make sure you check them out:

http://echelonair.com
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I didn't think it would be easy, but it's harder than I thought.

With training now started for the IR, here's an insight to a flight where I introduce SOPs and new procedures/checklists required for the standards set out in Standards Document 01 (A) as I venture towards the full IR.

Read more: https://www.theflyingvlog.uk/harder-than-i-thought/

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Music by Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com)

Live worldwide in-flight weather data supported by Golze Engineering: https://www.ing-golze.de

- Disclaimer -

Please note Aviation Safety is never compromised when recording ANY videos, and any recording does not interfere with in-flight procedures and aircraft handling. Views and aviation-related discussion that of my own and not my employers.

00:00​​​ Intro & Departure
05:00​​​ Tracking BRAIN
10:00​​​ CTA Entry & Vectors for ILS
18:00​​​ Missed Approach & Return to EGSG

#theflyingvlog #pilotlife #aviation