Aaaaaaah! Condor Moments
Affectionately dubbed the 'RODNOC' I learned on them at Rochester in 75 with Stampe - now a multi-squillion-hour jet captain and me - still a hobby pilot...
I did my first solo in G-AXGS and also flew G-AWSN and G-ATAU. I didn't like AU much - it was an early machine with a short stick and was generally unpleasant to fly.
We also had privately-owned G-AYZT - I think I am correct on the reg. - at Rochester. It had a glider hook on it. I believe it is no more - crashing fatally on a glider-towing sortie?
Great little plane that were generally sneered at in the 70's mainly because they were pretty much all leased out for tuppence-hapenny to flying schools, were operated on the cheap, lived outdoors and were all sheds.
A few anecdotes - My mate Barry Johnson turned up for an early solo sortie wearing a seriously high pair of Gary Glitter-type platform boots.
His landing was a sight! His foot slipped off the rudder pedal (surprise surprise) and he ended up in the long grass.
Watching him climb out of the plane - AbFab style - hobbling around on those seriously silly boots was so funny!
Indicative of the standard of the old Universal Flying Services Rodnocs in those days - I hired SN and, as you do, waggled the wingtip (why do we all do that on a preflight?) Anyway - good job I did because the entire wingtip came off in my hand....
THere was a spate of props breaking up (Evra?) and one aircraft duly landed in a school field following a failure on climbout.
One of the instructors duly turned up, carefully paced the field and decided that he could just get it off without the need to have it taken to bits.
Prop-fitted, the engine was running when - guess what? - Ross Skinner - CFI, ex-Spitfire pilot and really big guy at the time said - 'I can't let you do this on your own - I'm coming with you.
Well - you didn't argue with Ross - especially if he had 'downed a few' - so off this thing staggered, undoubtedly overweight and - well - I remember a photo of it nose-high between 2 houses....It seemed to fall out of sight once it had cleared the rooftops but them miraculously reappeared again. All built up housing estate. Crazy....
Has anybody got a copy of photo?
Plenty more stories but I'll leave you with this one.
Local Plod wanted to mount an exercise involving drugs being flown in by light aircraft.
Across the grass scorched the plain clothes feds - Sweeney style - in their Cortina towards the 'target' Rodnoc.
Trouble was, the grass was wet.
Bang!
It skidded into the side of the fuz in a shower of plywood.
Bugg@r..................
I am sure I 'll think of more stories.
You'll need them Stampe if you are even remotely going to compete with the success of my MMMmmmiles thread!
HP
Aaaaah! Condor!