Nice write-up, Stue!
Thanks for giving me the opportunity of getting EGCC into my logbook, it was a great experience, and I know you enjoyed it at least as much as me.
I would like to echo the comments which others have already made - don't be afraid, but
do be well prepared. Take someone else there with you to help out if the workload gets a bit high (doesn't have to be an instructor, but you can be sure of getting good support from an instructor).
When Stue told me he wanted to go to Manchester and take me with, I told him that was fine - he would do all the planning, and I would just sit there next to him. He did an absolutely fantastic job of arranging and planning everything, so that I literally just sat there for pretty much the whole of the flight, enjoying the view and taking photos.
The only area where he (we) wasn't quite well enough prepared for was after landing. When ATC told us to exit at KC, we looked at each other, neither of us having the faintest idea where KC was. That's when having two people will help - I let Stue slow us down to taxy speed, while I got out the airfield diagram, then figured out where we were, and how far we had to go. My advice for anyone else who wants to visit is to have an idea of the taxy route you might be expected to take beforehand, and have the airfield diagram somewhere easilly accessible immediately after landing. (The same could be said for any land-away at an airfield you don't know, but the bigger the airfield the more important it is.)
One final thanks to Manchester ATC - I'm sure you've got more important things to do than make gaps for C172s so that us private pilots can get a thrill from being in a big airport, buy you took it in your stride and gave us a great service and a great experience.
FFF
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