We get one day off, every 6 days.. though by definition it is a day off, I end up planning for my flights and practicing checks anyway, so I’d call it a semi-day off! I spent today with a lie in (don’t get to do that often) and then went to the Apron around 4:30pm to practice some avionics and emergency checks. I took my camera with me to take a few photos of the aircraft on the Apron, as many had come in for a rally. It’s some kind of competition where a group of general aviation aircraft fly-in.

As I was walking around, I noticed an Aeronova Co-pilot waiting outside the aircraft for the Captain and the passengers. He kindly let me into the aircraft, which was a Fairchild SA227 Metro III, to have a look around the cabin and flight deck. He was very friendly and allowed me to take this photo of the flight deck:

And a cheesy photo of me posing in the Captain’s seat!

Here are a couple of shots of the aircraft:

This aircraft is equipped with GPS, GPWS, TCAS and auto-pilot. The Co-pilot explained that the autopilot is only used for the cruise and initial approach and departure segments of the flight - the approach plates have to be flown manually.