I learned to fly at Barton in 1978, flew a based Chipmunk and many other types from then until a few years ago when the group moved to John Lennon, and have probably made hundreds of take offs from 09, later 09s north and south, still later 09s left and right.
About 10 years ago I got a partial engine failure on take off from 09L. But I was luckier than the guys on Friday; the engine kept going but at much reduced power and we made it back in. Had it stopped, or developed even a tad less power than it did, we'd have had absolutely nowhere to go.
Have the pilots been named yet? I've a horrible dread that the older one may have been someone I knew.
Last edited by Shaggy Sheep Driver; 2nd Aug 2011 at 11:02.