<p>Hello again from Australia!</p>
<p>We have just completed our three months of core training in Australia. Core training is a hugely exciting time for a pilot; it’s the first training which involves flying a plane and helps you build up your experience before flying a plane solo.</p>
<p><img alt="Jieun Kwong - Core Flying in Australia " src="/getasset/529a37be-9c2d-49e2-ac6c-e2ecd3675cd1/" /></p>
<p>We have been learning in the Cessna 172, which people say is the most popular aircraft worldwide. It’s a four-seat single engine aircraft with a high wing (where the wings are above the cockpit.) There are two available at the training facility and we get to fly in both.</p>
<p>For the first few weeks which I wrote about in my last diary, you are with an instructor who helps you familiarise yourself with the plane. They do let you take off quite early in the training (after one or two sessions with the instructor) and this makes you feel excited and nervous in equal measure. Landing is a lot harder than taking off and comes much later in the training.</p>
<p>Before learning to land, you are taught many different skills. One of them is level flight, which is keeping the plane level with the horizon. The airfield doesn’t have a tower, so we need to learn our circuits so we can return to the airfield. You must use a radio to avoid any traffic and to assist you in finding the airfield.</p>
<p><img alt="Jieun Kwong - Above the clouds" src="/getasset/60a11d1b-a929-4e7d-94ee-47feecfef813/" /></p>
<p>For the first few weeks, the instructor lands the plane and then, it’s your turn. The first time the instructor did it with me, I gained so much confidence going into my next flight when I landed the plane myself. I knew I just had to keep my eyes on the end of the runway and look straight ahead. Just before you touchdown, you have to perform a manoeuvre called a landing flare, where you raise the nose, creating a bit of backwards pressure that slows down the plane so there is a softer touchdown.</p>
<p>I was really pleased because there was only a little bounce. Landing is the best experience ever!</p>
<p>We did so many circuits that I lost count, but it must easily have been over 50 so by the end, you are really comfortable in the plane and things like landing became second nature. We also learned a lot of other skills including how to do normal turns, steep turns, emergency landing and upset recovery (stall recovery). We also learned how to come safely out of a spiral dive (just in case!).</p>
<p>The cross-country course involves flying from Caloundra over to other cities such as Gympie, Maryborough, Hervey Bay, the Sunshine Coast and more. This takes about two and a half hours. You have to combine your radio, airfield information and map-reading skills to get across the country. We sometimes landed when we got there, but on other occasions we performed a touch and go landing which involves landing and taking off again without the plane stopping. It’s great because it means you can practice lots of landings in a short period of time.</p>
<p>The bushfires did mean there was one week we could not fly as it was so smokey and hazy, which are not ideal conditions to learn. Australia really is a lot hotter than the UAE, particularly as it is winter there so there was definitely a bit of adjusting to do, but to go in such a short span of time from never having flown a plane to performing solo flights over training was an experience I will never forget.</p>
<p>The next stage in my training, Basic Phase, which helps you upskill from single pilot competency to multi-crew operation, should end in April and May. I hope to keep you updated with my progress along the way!</p>
<p><img alt="Jieun Kwon Diary 5: Group Photo" src="/getasset/fb264cc6-1076-4f16-b465-d96f14e155ec/" /></p>
<p>We have just completed our three months of core training in Australia. Core training is a hugely exciting time for a pilot; it’s the first training which involves flying a plane and helps you build up your experience before flying a plane solo.</p>
<p><img alt="Jieun Kwong - Core Flying in Australia " src="/getasset/529a37be-9c2d-49e2-ac6c-e2ecd3675cd1/" /></p>
<p>We have been learning in the Cessna 172, which people say is the most popular aircraft worldwide. It’s a four-seat single engine aircraft with a high wing (where the wings are above the cockpit.) There are two available at the training facility and we get to fly in both.</p>
<p>For the first few weeks which I wrote about in my last diary, you are with an instructor who helps you familiarise yourself with the plane. They do let you take off quite early in the training (after one or two sessions with the instructor) and this makes you feel excited and nervous in equal measure. Landing is a lot harder than taking off and comes much later in the training.</p>
<p>Before learning to land, you are taught many different skills. One of them is level flight, which is keeping the plane level with the horizon. The airfield doesn’t have a tower, so we need to learn our circuits so we can return to the airfield. You must use a radio to avoid any traffic and to assist you in finding the airfield.</p>
<p><img alt="Jieun Kwong - Above the clouds" src="/getasset/60a11d1b-a929-4e7d-94ee-47feecfef813/" /></p>
<p>For the first few weeks, the instructor lands the plane and then, it’s your turn. The first time the instructor did it with me, I gained so much confidence going into my next flight when I landed the plane myself. I knew I just had to keep my eyes on the end of the runway and look straight ahead. Just before you touchdown, you have to perform a manoeuvre called a landing flare, where you raise the nose, creating a bit of backwards pressure that slows down the plane so there is a softer touchdown.</p>
<p>I was really pleased because there was only a little bounce. Landing is the best experience ever!</p>
<p>We did so many circuits that I lost count, but it must easily have been over 50 so by the end, you are really comfortable in the plane and things like landing became second nature. We also learned a lot of other skills including how to do normal turns, steep turns, emergency landing and upset recovery (stall recovery). We also learned how to come safely out of a spiral dive (just in case!).</p>
<p>The cross-country course involves flying from Caloundra over to other cities such as Gympie, Maryborough, Hervey Bay, the Sunshine Coast and more. This takes about two and a half hours. You have to combine your radio, airfield information and map-reading skills to get across the country. We sometimes landed when we got there, but on other occasions we performed a touch and go landing which involves landing and taking off again without the plane stopping. It’s great because it means you can practice lots of landings in a short period of time.</p>
<p>The bushfires did mean there was one week we could not fly as it was so smokey and hazy, which are not ideal conditions to learn. Australia really is a lot hotter than the UAE, particularly as it is winter there so there was definitely a bit of adjusting to do, but to go in such a short span of time from never having flown a plane to performing solo flights over training was an experience I will never forget.</p>
<p>The next stage in my training, Basic Phase, which helps you upskill from single pilot competency to multi-crew operation, should end in April and May. I hope to keep you updated with my progress along the way!</p>
<p><img alt="Jieun Kwon Diary 5: Group Photo" src="/getasset/fb264cc6-1076-4f16-b465-d96f14e155ec/" /></p>