Kungsair Flight Training in Norrköping Part Two

Simon has now completed his practical flight training in Norrköping and here are some photos and information about what has happened since the last report.

The last few weeks have been very hectic for me at the flight school so I haven't had the time to keep you guys up to date, sorry for that but i'm going to tell you all about it now!

This report will cover the flight training in the Travel Air, so it's the part in the multi engine airplane! I have completed 50 hours of instrument-training in the single engined Slingsby and spent my last 30 hours in the Travel Air with more instrument-training, cross country flying and emergency training flying with only one engine operative.


View from the porch at the flight school

We started of with some basic training, learning how to handle the airplane and it's systems with some basic things like stall, steep turns, short field landings and so on. We also had to do one full day on the ground for the technical course and a written test to make sure that we could handle it's systems before we could start the cross country flights.

On the first day of cross country flights we flew Norrköping-Göteborg-Bornholm(Denmark)-Kalmar and back to Norrköping. Martin flew the flight to Göteborg and then it was my turn in the "hot" seat for the flight to Bornholm. We got vectors for an ILS (Instrument landing system) approach in Bornholm and the weather was bad. It was low clouds and rain so I could only see the runway just 100 feet before the minimum altitude before we had to make a go around! Great fun and great training, it's very different to fly a approach like that in real weather and not under a hod, as we normally do for training!


Enroute towards Östersund FL100.


Jonas shoot from the landning in Östersund, seen here on short final runway 30.

After a lunch in Bornholm we had a very uneventful flight back to Norrköping via Kalmar. We made an instrument approach in Kalmar and ended the day with a visual approach in Norrköping.

We had no flying the next day, it was all spent planing the next eight cross country flights and also to complete another written test on general questions about flight dynamics, laws of the air and so on with questions about minimas, flight dynamics etc so our instructor could see that we hadn't forgotten everything from the ATPL theory!

It was now time for a day that I had been looking forward to, flying home, to Östersund to be specific! I took the controls for the first flight, Norrköping to Östersund via Sveg where we made a GPS-approach before heeding further north! I had called Jonas the day before so he was waiting for as as we arrived and got some shoots of the landing! Then we heeded in to town together for some lunch before we continued our trip to Vasa, Finland, via Sundsvall. I flew the leg to Vasa, it was just an hour long flight but a nice one! After a short stop in Vasa it was Martins turn to fly the last leg back to Norrköping, a two hour long flight with some bad wether on the route! I took the time to rest after a long day of flying.


Climbing out of Östersund on our way towards Sundsvall with the city in the background.


Enroute from Östersund to Sundsvall.



Martin at the controls on short final runway 27 at Norrköping after another long day.

Then we spend the next few days training on flying with one engine, this was done in the area around Norrköping. We also had to make a VFR (Visual flight rules) flight around the area and land on different airports like Linköping and Skavsta as this is a part of the the skill test. It's one part of VFR flying and one part flying on Instruments.

Then it was time for our last cross country flight before the skill test, we flew Norrköping-Bergen-Aalborg-Malmö and back to Norrköping. It was another long 12 hour day but it was fun! The first flight to Bergen was just beautiful! I flew the last flight from Malmö Sturup to Norrköping and this flight was very relaxed, the instructor know that we where ready and he could just sit back and relax!


Enroute Norrköping-Bergen, beautiful scenery along the route.





Short final runway 35 at Bergen.

Now we only had three more days before the skill test, we started to get nervous and our instructor was drilling us like never before! We did everything that we ever had done during the training, and now we should know it all, no mistakes! My last flight the day before the skill test was horrible but I think the nerves did theirs! Then we stayed up late that last night going through everything and prepared our selfs as much as we could for the oral exam and the skill test!

The big day was here, the examiner arrived early and had a look on all my papers and everything was in order, time to fly! I was nervous that morning but once i sat in the airplane i cold of! I felt like home, I had been here every day for the last seven weeks! He asked me a few questions about the airplane and some emergency procedures and then it was time to go! I can't tell you everything about the skill test but we started of with the VFR-part, I got tested on my navigation skills, short landing, landing on one engine and so one! I made a few mistakes but i noticed them and corrected them. All was fine and I passed!


City of Allborg


Me at the controls, climbing out on the instrument departure from Sturup. Got a direct routing so I hade to ad that in the GPS.

Then after a two hour lunch it was time for the skill test for my instrument rating. Same here, I can't tell you to much but I had to prove that I could handle the plane in low speed, stall, steep turns, limited instrument (Incase something breaks during flight) etc flying only on the instruments. Then we turned back for some holdings, ILS-approaches, NDB and circling. ILS is a instrument landing system where you can basically fly the airplane down to the runway without seeing anything! NDB Is also a instrument landing system but with a lower precision so you have to be able to see the runway before you land. During this time i "lost" an engine to prove that I could handle the instrument flying on one engine as well.


Me on short final 27 at Norrköping after a visual approach.

"I got my shit together" so to speak, the flights weren't perfect but it was way better that the last flight the day before! The examiner did't have to much to say, only a few small things, as always! I don't think that anyone is flying perfect during a skill test! But It was no problems, no written remarks and I had passed this flight as well! I am now a commercial pilot with a multi-engine and instrument rating, I have been waiting years for this moment and now it is here! After years of hard work with the theory and getting everything together I am finally here! He signed the papers, shook my hand and handed my license over to me! What a feeling, probably the greatest feeling that I have ever felt!

It's been a long and hard road to ride but now I'm done! It still feels weird, I have been working for so long for this and now I'm done, I don't really know what to do now! The next big break is of course to find a job as a pilot and that is probably the hardest part but I'm not going to give up now!

I just want to give a big thank you to everyone that has been with me through this, all my family and friend that has been there for me even during the tough times and all the time that I have spent away from home! And thanks to you readers of Osdphoto out there that has been so supportive as well and giving me good wishes along the way!


One happy guy at the airplane after passing my Skill test with my instructor to the right and the examiner to the left.

I also would like to give a special thanks to my mother who passed away in cancer in 2006, she was my biggest supporter of all! I know that she isn't here today but she has helped me allot, she knew that I could do this and I know that she would be very proud over me right now! She struggled like no one other, she knew that she wasn't going to make it but she fought for it every day. I knew that if she could do that, then I could do this!

Simon Brygg
simonbrygg@osdphoto.com

Two days of charter traffic at Östersund

The fall charter from Åre Östersund Airport is on again, so Jonas and Simon headed out on both Thursday and Friday to shoot Freebird and Corendon from Turkey.

Nowadays it's not every day that we all get a chance to shoot together, with work and studies always in the way. This week however Jonas and Simon was in Östersund at the same time, with Simon just coming home after finishing his commercial pilot training and Jonas about to leave town for new studies.

Thursday

On thursday morning we headed out to a perfect fall day with a clear sky and a temperature around 10°C. But as always when we are around, things tend to go the opposite of what we want them to. In this case, some clouds found an interesting spot over the airport and decided to stay for the most part of the day.
But we did find something that made us happy and it was something as trivial as a giant pile of pallets at our usual spotting location next to runway 30. You have to embrace the small things in life, right?
From these new pallets we were able to see more of the runway and from up there we shot the arrival of Freebird from Antalya, Turkey.


TC-FBV is a new registration for us and is also rather new to the company. It was delivered to Freebird in April 2011.

Next in line on the approach was SAS. LN-RPT was flying today and it is one of the most photographed airliners on Åre Östersund Airport.






Jonas on his way back to the car after shooting a video sequence of the SAS landing.

After a quick lunch in the car we headed to the ATC tower to shoot the Freebird departure from up there. As always the staff at the ATC is very helpful and often let us up for a chat and a chance to get a great view over the runway and airport.


Freebird departing back to Turkey. It makes you think about the Lynyrd Skynyrd song, doesn't it?



While we were up at the tower we also shot the landing of the Direktflyg arrival from Umeå.



Before leaving the airport for the day we photographed the take off of Mediflight, the air ambulance, from runway 30 and then went for lunch together with one of the the air traffic controllers.



Friday


On Friday we expected Corendon to arrive from Turkey at 13:10. They however got late and didn't arrive until 15:10.
Luckily we had the weather on our side all day this time and managed to get our photos of the landing on runway 30 two hours late.



TC-TJJ with the special Detur color scheme on final for runway 30.




Simon's lens served as a pit stop for a wasp.

Our thought was to drive to the terminal and get some photos from the apron as well, but today Cordendon parked on the other side of the tarmac on a location where you can't get a clean shot. So we called the ATC again and they told us we were welcome up today, too.
   Up in the tower there was a lot of activity as the usually so calm airport all of a sudden was busy. A SAS was on final and two business jets were under way in along with two helicopters. We had only expected the single charter today, so we didn't mind the extra traffic and a possibility to get some interesting photos.


SE-DJM, a Falcon 900 shortly after landing on runway 30. Probably carrying passengers here for the grouse hunt in the mountains.


The air ambulance helicopter taxing just below the ATC tower.


Simon up at the ATC tower.

Shortly after 16:00 Corendon was ready to head back down to Antalya with new passengers and tourists.






The last shot for this time was of the ever so common LN-RPS flying out from Åre Östersund Airport down to Stockholm Arlanda.

That was it for now and make sure you don't miss the episode of our Vlog from these two days below.
A new feature in the Vlog now is that it is all in English now!




Jonas Herjeby
jonasherjeby@osdphoto.com



Simon Brygg
simonbrygg@osdphoto.com

Trondheim Vlog part 3

The great adventure in Norway finally comes to an end as this post contains the third and last episode of the Vlog from Trondheim. Besides footage of a cranky Simon and rain, we also summarize the trip!

Of course you can activate English subtitles by pressing the CC icon in the player.

First week at Kungsair Flight Training in Norrköping

Simon is now living in Norrköping to complete the last part of his flight training to become an airline pilot. He has now been there for one week and gathered some photos from the flight school and the ordinary traffic at the airport!  

If you have been following us here at osdphoto then you know that I'm studying to become an airline pilot and that I have been living in Stockholm for the past year completing the theoretical exams for a commercial pilot license. Now when all the exams are done it's time for the last part of the flight training so I have moved to Norrköping to attend at Kungsair Flight Training. I'm going to stay here for twelve weeks to complete a multi engine rating, instrument rating and my commercial pilot license. 


This is the plane that I will fly during my multi engine training. It's a Beech D95A Travel Air built in 1966


Now this is a fun machine, this is the plane that I'm doing my instrument rating and comercial pilot training in. It's a Slingsby-T67M200 built in 1987! It's the only flying plane in Sweden of this model. It has an empty weight of just over 700 kilos and an engine with 200bhp, it's like flying a sports car!


The instrument panel of the Travel Air, it's old, no autopilot and no glass cockpit but it's doing it's job! I think it's great to learn the old way first and not just rely on computer systems!

Kungsair flight training is a private flight school located at Kungsängen airport outside of Norrköping, Sweden.  Kungsair started as a business charter company but was split up and made a flight school for commercial pilot training back in 1988 with Elving Persson as owner and head of training. In 1998 Sven-Erik Simonsson joined the company as a flight instructor and took over as head of training in 2003. Sven-Erik is now running the school himself as head of training and the single flight instructor of the school. Kungsair is operating four aircrafts, two single engine and two twin engined Beech aircrafts.  The students at the school are living in accommodations at the airport, on airside actually! This is great for me as an aviation photographer, it couldn't be better! I can leave my room and walk five meters and be on the apron where I can stand and snap some shots of the traffic! I'm going to continue to post photos during my stay down here, maybe not every week but I will keep everybody up to date with my progress at the flight school and the must interesting traffic!  


This Beech 300 is operated by the local private charter company Waltair. Waltair has been flying private, businesses charter, cargo and ambulance flights since 1994 with it's base here in Norrköping! Now this photo is taken just outside my front porch!


This Cessna-560XL is also operated by Waltair. This machine is for those who require higher speed and longer range. SE-LIR was built in 2008 and is owned by Fly Invest Sweden AB.

During my first week I have flown ten training flights, five instrument training flights and five flights with basic flight training but with higher precision than on my private pilot license. The first weeks we are only flying a single engine airplane, actually we have to fly 50 hours in the single engine before we step up to the twin engine witch we will fly for the last 30 hours. A big difference here from the flight school where I got my private pilot license is the way we work all the procedures. We are working in flows like in big airliner and we only have checklists for the "killer items" the most important things like the before landing checks. When you are flying a Cessna 172 or say a Piper PA28 you are doing every step according to checklists and you even have a bit different flying technics, now everything is about precision and working in flows to make if fast but safe. So this first week has been a lot about training on all the flows and procedures and learn how to manage this new aircraft witch is faster and harder to fly then the standard Cessna on you aeronautical club!  


This Beech 200C is splashing a lot of water on it's way to runway 09 for departure.


As a student at Kungsair, I have the possibility to ride in the backseat with other students. Here is Rickard during line up for another instrument training flight. The plane is SE-LKA, a Beech 76 Duchess also owned and operated by Kungsair, built in 1979.





Rickard is very concentrated as he follows the NDB-approach for runway 09.


Short final runway 09 in a rainy Norrköping!

The last year has been really hard, no flying at all and just studying for the final exams. In Europe we have to write 13 exams in subjects like laws of the air, principles of flight, metrology, aircraft systems, performance and so on, so it's so great to have all that behind me now and focus everything on the flying! I'm having a great time so far down here, flying a minimum of two times a day and I have already meet a lot of fun and interesting people! That's one part of my love for aviation, I get to travel and live in different places and meet a lot of new people! 


Finncomm operates daily flights to Norrkoping from Helsinki, normally they fly this route with ATR but here is a Embraer ERJ-170, OH-LEI.


Direktflyg is flying to Norrköping during this week, seen here on her way out to runway 27 for departure to Borlänge. Note the new propeller with five blades to lower the noise in the cabin!


Thomas Cook is flying once a week from Norrköping to Palma with a Airbus A321. Seen here after departure from runway 27.


JetTime is the most common charter company in Norrköping, flying to destinations around the Mediterranean sea with Boeing 737-700. Seen here on it's way out to runway 09 for departure to Larnaca, Cyprus.


SunExpress is flying once a week to Antalya from Norrköping during the summer with Boeing 737-800. Seen here after landing runway 27 in the last sun of the day.


An incredibly beautiful rainbow and clouds after a heavy rain the other night.

As I said before, I'm going to post more on my progress here and photos from the airport later but until then, stay tuned on the site for more interesting reports from us at OsdPhoto! 

TEXT AND PHOTO
Simon Brygg
simonbrygg@osdphoto.com

Trondheim Vlog part 2

Hopefully you enjoyed the first part of three of our Vlog from when Simon and Jonas were in Trondheim. Now the saga continues in part two!



Of course you can activate English subtitles by pressing the CC icon in the player.
Be sure not to miss part three that is due during next week!

Reportage: On board Daisy the DC-3

Last Sunday Åre Östersund Airport was visited by the 69-year old Daisy. Jonas Herjeby represented us onboard this old lady for a flight around the Östersund area.



We were fourteen aviation enthusiasts who met up by the check-in counters at Åre Östersund Airport, all eager to board the plane that landed a few hours earlier. Many among the crowd had worked on aircrafts like this as mechanics in the military or for airlines that once operated them. We were all curious on what we could expect, even the ones that had flown this lady before. 
   What we were waiting for to see was of course the DC-3 named Daisy that waited on the tarmac outside. During the day it had flown down to Östersund from Kramfors carrying members of the nonprofit organization Flygande veteraner (Flying veterans) to let the local members of Östersund have a chance to fly the classic DC-3. Thanks to Bernt Olsson, who arranged the flight, Ostersund Photography was invited to join in, too.


Daisy on final runway 12 after the flight from Kramfors.

On my way out to the airport I met a few drops of rain and immediately hoped this would not interfere with this flying experience I had been looking so much forward to. The DC-3 Daisy is a plane I have photographed on a number of occasions, but never had the chance to actually fly. Lucky for me and the other thirteen, the rain stayed away for the remainder of the afternoon.
   We were met up by Bernt by the check-in counters and he handed us each a folder of information about Daisy and a boarding card.
   – Here they are still analogue, he says about the card and laughs. He also explains that it's more of a souvenir than a actual boarding card.
   When we all are ready we head out to the awaiting Daisy resting outside. And there she stands, all shiny with her retro SAS color scheme, as if we had transported trough time to the 1950's. Many of my fellow passengers picked up their cameras and began photographing every possible angle of her. And of course so did I, too.



By the door we were greeted by our cabin attendant Monika Norlén, dressed in a retro uniform. When we all were seated she told us about the organization and the flight we were about to do.
   I was surprised by how big the cabin felt and by how much space you have for your legs when you sit down. At least twice the space offered by most airlines today. By every window there was a small towel hanging on a hook on the wall. Monika explained to us that since this old aircraft has no pressurized cabin the windows tend to get foggy. So to be able to see out you might have to use the towel to wipe of the fog from the plastic windows.
   Everywhere around me people were chatting and sharing old anecdotes and stories of Daisy or other DC-3:s. All of a sudden a generator like noise spread through the cabin and shortly after the whole plane started to shiver when the right engine ignited with a puff. The left one followed and we were ready to taxi.
   Once out on the runway the two Pratt & Whitney engines rev up with a roar. On such an old plane there is not much of a wall between you and the noisy engine outside and the whole cabin is filled with a diffused rolling noise. We started to move down runway 12 and Daisy rised up on her main gear and started to lift of. At first it was a bit bumpy, but the pilots a few meters in front of me handled their lady well as we climbed up to 2,500 ft.


Daisy spreading her 69 years old wings over Storsjön at 2,500 ft.

Daisy is an old gal, built during the war back in 1943 and is not really a DC-3. Actually she is a converted C-47, the military name for the transport version of the DC-3. She was first stationed in Algeria during World war two but was rebuilt to the civilian DC-3 version in 1946. This was when she discharged from the military and moved to Norway to fly for DNL (Det Norske Luftfartselskap, or The Norwegian Aviation Company), that eventually became a part of SAS Scandinavian Airlines.
   In 1960 she enlisted again, this time in the Swedish airforce where she remained until 1982. In 1983 the organization The flying veterans was formed to preserve this beautiful and historical aircraft and keep her flying. And she still is, offering flights like the one I was on to the members of the organization.


Pilots Mikael Holm and Anders Ahlberg taking us out over the landscape outside Östersund.

While we were up in the air everyone onboard was allowed to visit the crew in the cockpit to take photos and ask questions. Up in the cockpit it is hard to find modern equipment and instrumentation. The only modern thing I was able to spot was the GPS placed on top of the dashboard.
   Back in the cabin I sat in my seat looking around and trying to understand how much this machine actually has been through. With her 69 years of age one kind of expects her to wear marks and… well, be old. But the organization has really done a great job keeping her going both in appearance and aesthetics as well as mechanically. But I never felt like as if I was flying in a piece of museum junk, but in a actual lady of the skies!


The cabin of the DC-3 is comfortable and offer good space for your legs. 

After making a few turns over the beautiful landscape below us it was time to head back to the airport. We had been airborne for about 25 minutes when the main gear once again touched the runway and Daisy began to slow down. There was a soft bump when the tail-wheel hit the ground and the flight was over.
   Back on the apron everyone was happy and had really enjoyed themselves. And so had I! I'm really glad I was able to come along on this flight and share this experience. To me it's really important that there are enthusiasts and initiators that are willing to keep old planes flying. The DC-3, for instance, is an important piece of the aviation history and if it were not for these people we would not be able to experience it. History is history, but sometimes it's important that it is being retold. And Daisy sure does it well.


The crew. From left mechanics Lennart Hallén and Lars Rosén, cabin attendant Monika Norlén and pilots Anders Ahlberg and Mikael Holm.

Many thanks for inviting us!

TEXT AND PHOTO
Jonas Herjeby
jonasherjeby@osdphoto.com

Trondheim Vlog part 1, finally!

Two weeks ago Simon and Jonas went on a spotting trip to Trondheim, Norway. Here is the delayed first part of the Vlog!



Sorry for the delay, but now you can finally enjoy the first part of our vlog from the Trondheim trip, Of course you can activate English subtitles by pressing the CC icon in the player.

Parts two and three can be expected within the following days, so keep an eye open!