The past few days have been quite windy over Europe, resulting in some disruption due to the necessary diversions. Â Luckily, I was on my time off away from flying, so I wasn’t affected by any of it. Â It looked like a strong low pressure system was moving across causing all this havoc!
My early shift began today, and though I usually find the sleeping pattern on the first day quite difficult to adjust to, I found it relatively easy this time. Â I find a cup of green tea before work always sets me up nicely for the rest of the day! Â Am I getting used to waking up at 4am for my flights? Â Maybe, I don’t know! Â I used to worry about trying to get to bed early, and tried all sorts of rituals in order to get myself to sleep early for the next day. Â I found that worrying is just counterproductive and I end up not being able to sleep as a result, so now I just don’t think about it and manage to doze away quite easily!
Todays flights took us to France and then Barcelona, Spain.  The weather was mild in both locations, but slightly warmer in Barcelona at 19ºC, though it felt a little bit colder due to the breeze.  We ended up flying a procedural approach to both destinations since there was no radar support at the airport itself (though there was around in the surrounding area).  I find procedural approaches quite easy to plan for in terms of descent since the lateral path is defined, and so the track miles are defined.  With radar vectors it’s a bit of a game in trying to anticipate the controllers next move and heightened situational awareness is necessary.
The weather looks like it’s improving as we’re approaching Summer.. and soon we shall be avoiding thunderstorms and wrestling with thermals! Summer does bring its own challenges as well!