HOUSE 77 Xmas EDITION

I just had to ask for a solo flight didn't I? So today I finally got up. Was super happy to be going up on my own. I did all my pre-engine start checks, post-engine start checks, pre-take off checks, and runway checks. I take off, and do one circuit of the runway. I land, and see a Cessna 152 do a touch and go, a Cessna 172 do the same, and a Piper Seminole twin engine do a touch and go as well. I take off behind the Seminole.

I perform my circuit as I've been trained. I climb to 1400ft ASL and make my crosswind turn. I hear radio chatter from the 152, the 172, and from two helicopters doing training to the East of the airport. The 152 makes a call turning base. I turn downwind and make my radio call. Ahead of me the 172 makes a turn onto base and makes his call. More chatter from the helicopters. I do my pre-landing checks. Primer locked, master and Mags on, lights on, carb heat hot, mixture rich, fuel on both. I throttle down when parallel to the threshold of runway 33. I see the 172 on final, hear his call, and put down 20 degrees of flap once the airspeed has dropped below 85 knots. Once he's parallel to my wing, I turn left, and make my call for base. "Brampton Traffic this is Hotel Sierra Kilo turning base runway 3-3 full stop." I check my altitude and speed, approaching at 65 knots, and I seem a bit high, I pull back on the throttle a touch to adjust.

Then all hell breaks loose.

"HOTEL SIERRA KILO this is Papa Sierra Kilo we are IMMEDIATELY to your right do you have us??"

*ahem* Imagine all the alarms. Bells. Whistles. Horns. Drums. Beeping. Flashing. My mind is currently in overload thinking "Wait...WHERE did he say he was?" I look behind to my right. No plane. I didn't hear anyone call base. Where the hell is he. I sweep back to the nose to make sure I am still straight and level.

Oh god. He is there. RIGHT THERE. It's the Twin. Doing a steep bank to the right. It's about 200ft away from me. I swerve the plane to the right..."wait..no...left, go left left left" Holy crap holy crap holy crap.

So about three quarters of an hour later I'm down, after doing a few more circuits after that. I am walking to the front desk and my flight instructor is coming towards me with a smile. I yell to him "Jeff! Who was just flying Papa Sierra Kilo???" He laughs to me and says "Yah you cut me off."

Turns out he got his student to do a simulated engine failure. Course, on a twin engine plane you can cut out one engine and run on the other. So he was flying the circuit normally - but forgot his radio calls, or at least didn't make his call for Final. As a consequence I never expected to see him there - even though I should have - cuz it was the twin that did the touch and go in front of me. Anyway...Jeff laughed it off. I wasn't too shaken up. I was just worried I'd get in trouble, but it's all good. And I have learned to keep a much keener eye out...and immediately after the incident, the student pilot learned to keep much better tabs on his radio calls.