Crimson Flight Instruction

16/07/2025

We recently witnessed an aircraft start its take off run with a spluttering engine. It clearly wasn’t gaining enough speed yet it continued to commit to take off. Once airborne, it struggled to climb so returned low level to land. Had the aircraft taken off on the runway in the opposite direction it may not have cleared the rising ground with a disastrous outcome.

Moral of this post… ALWAYS have a departure brief which includes your plan for dealing with issues. Know your take off speed, know the runway length. Apply the 70/50 rule of thumb for decision making. Take offs are always optional. Landings are always mandatory.

21/06/2025

Ladybird 1 spotted at Lee-on-Solent airfield

23/05/2025

SkyDemon is a great tool for instructors to debrief students. In the example below, the student can see how their circuits consistently converge towards the active runway, the turn onto left base too shallow and the turn onto final too steep and at increased risk of a stall. This turn is renowned for accidents which is why it’s called the ‘Graveyard Turn’. For more information on stalls and spins, see the CAA Safety Sense leaflets available below.

https://www.caa.co.uk/general-aviation/safety-topics/safety-sense-leaflets/

23/05/2025

An interesting trend recently. Some pilots under instruction have proceeded to start the airplane wearing their headset. This isn’t a great idea as it makes hearing mechanical anomalies harder to detect, especially if the headsets are ANR. Always fly with threat and error management in mind.

10/05/2025

This is why we fly! Bembridge for lunch and then Goodwood for a vintage car-fest.

02/05/2025

An intense three days spent supporting The Air League with 35 candidate interviews at the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation in London.

A fine group of young adults all hoping to have their lives changed with a flying scholarship.

02/04/2025

04/03/2025

If you’re an airborne CHIRPer, then you may be interested to learn that we now have a dedicated CHIRP aviation channel

CHIRP Aviation | 56 followers on LinkedIn. Our goal is to improve safety for everyone working in the UK’s aviation industry, one report at a time. | Our Aviation Programme provides an independent confidential reporting system and we focus on safety-related reports about human factors and just cult...

23/02/2025

Bose A20 audio controller holders made to order. Available in black, red, white and blue. Please message for more info.

15/01/2025

Looking forward to doing another round of scholarship selection for The Air League this spring.

If you know anyone who is interested in a career in aviation, suggest they take a look at the scholarships available from The Air League.

14/11/2024

PMDs are a great way of maintaining flying privileges without the need for a formal medical. If you have a PMD, please be aware that the CAA is planning to introduce a 5 yearly renewal until the age of 60 and 2 yearly renewal after the age of 60.

07/11/2024

Attended the 99th CHIRP GA Advisory Board today kindly hosted by the Air Accident Investigation Branch. Lovely sandwiches!

One thing that really struck me today was the degree of effort taken by the CHIRP staff to keep the reporter details confidential, even from us advisory board members. I can confidently say, the “C” in CHIRP really does mean ‘confidential’. If you have an issue to report, go to chirp.co.uk