What a wonderful day for flying!!!

[Aussie Andy]

Well I hope everyone managed to enjoy Sunday's conditions as much as I did! With my brother John over here visiting from Australia, we had planned a west-country trip for Saturday - down to Land's End was the goal... but was many of you will know, Saturday featured low cloud and drizzle thanks to the two occlusions passing over southern England from north to south, so I called up BAFC at Wycombe to cancel the aircraft - bummer.

Not to worry, Sunday looked good - but alas no aircraft available for Sunday from BA at Wycombe, so I checked the online bookings website for my other favourite club, RAF Benson, and as luch would have it a Warrior was available! I should have realised something was amiss, with an aircraft available for the whole day, and good weather forecast...

We arrived at Benson on Sunday around lunchtime as the early low cloudbase was forecast to lift around then. Conditions were looking promising, visibility good. Imagine my horror when - after collecting the keys from the clubhouse and heading to the hangar - I discovered the aircraft was not there!!! It turns out that it was over at Wycombe for maintenance, and I hadn't got the message. Double bummer!

What to do? The sky was beckoning, and my brother and I *needed* to fly! I called Wycombe and - glory of glories - there's been a cancellation and G-ODAK (an excellent 135kt P28B Dakota) was available for the afternoon! So we raced up to Wycombe and got into the a/c ASAP... only then did I realise that in my haste I'd left my kneeboard with plates, PLOG etc. all attached over in the club-house at Benson...! So I called Benson ATC and asked if I could land there in G-ODAK, which is not usually easily agreed without booking with Ops in advance, but they know me as a local club member and so agreed: So we flew 11NM back to Benson, picked up the kneeboard and AT LAST set out on our trip around 2:30pm!

We had near perfect conditions for most of the day. As I departed Benson there was a thin layer at ~2200' and it was hazy below. I called Lyneham for a RIS to break cloud, but whilst waiting to come within his secondary radar range, I spotted a blue hole big enough and just shot up through it to FL040, flying above the 6/8 broken layer below in absolutely beautiful clear blue skies! John & I tracked over Devizes, and for once managed to spot the eponymous horse at the "Vale of the White Horse" there.

We then flew over the Glastonbury festival site, by now the cloud was breaking up and was probably 4/8ths by then. By the time we landed at Dunkeswell we had clear skies, and beautiful scenery to match! Dunkeswell is very nice - we must go there again - it has a great little canteen, a bar, nice waitresses, and plenty of flying activity including meat-bombers!

We departed Dunkeswell towards Lyme bay, then via the man with the big willy (Cerne Abbas giant) and landed at Compton Abbas, which turns out to have a sloped runway and is perched high on a hilltop - fun! I was a bit worried when it came to depart that I wouldn't get airborne early enough to clear the trees due to the uphill, but I shouldn't have worried as with two-stages of flap the mighty Dakota roared into the air in about half the required distance...

We cruised home over Boscombe, FL050 with a service from Farnborough, scarcely a cloud in the sky and perfect visibility above the inversion, just north of Thruxton a bloke in a beautiful little red bi-plane performed a display between 2,000 & 4,000' - we watched in amazement from 1000' above and about a mile away, and it just looked perfect :-) So, to that guy in the red biplane - thanks for the show!

So that was a good end to what started out as a frustrating weekend... and two new (to me) airfields as well!

Pics to be posted shortly... I hope everyone else also enjoyed their weekend!

Andy :ok:

[Grainger]

Great report, AA - what an excellent day out !

I can only hope to be so lucky with the wetaher for my little trip next week - first to Kemble on Sunday, and later in the week I'll be going to Dunkeswell too - it's a little while since I've been there, but a great little spot and the folks there are very helpful and friendly.

From what you've just said, I may just have to take a bite to eat while I'm there !

G :cool:

[LowNSlow]

I had a nice little tour of East Anglia planned for Sunday. Rush Green to North Weald to fill up and then around East Anglia to the Wash and then down the Great Ouse to home.

Got to the airfield, Annie is at the back of the hangar, moved two Tiger Moths and a Champ out onto the apron and put Annie on the grass. Put the Tigers and the Champ back in the hangar. Opened Annie's door to get the chocks before doing my pre-flight and found a note on the seat on the lines of "very sorry but I've bumped your wing. Please call XXXXXXXX. Decent chap to have the decency to a) point out the damage (Not missable on a pre-flight BTW) and b) offer to pay for the damage. Hopefully fixable by the PFA Rally, oops Flying For Fun.

Andy glad somebody had a chance to show a visitor to our shores some lovely scenery and some really nice airfields :ok:

[Maude Charlee]

Glorious flying conditions in the NE yesterday afternoon too. Can't understand why everybody packed up early and went home. :confused: Virtually had the entire NE to myself yesterday evening. :D

[stiknruda]

I attended the Old Buckenham airshow and was wowed as ever by Will Curtis.

Great day out - ceiling 2500', temp in the early 20's.

Today is a far better sunbathing day, here in E Anglia. FNG popped in for a cup of tea on his way back to N Weald.

Stik

[Aussie Andy]

So I will indulge myself by boring you all with some of my pics :O !!

Pilot Aussie and Brother Aussie - about to start G-ODAK at Wycombe... "where are those bl**dy keys then!?":
http://members.lycos.co.uk/andyhardyuk/pprune/260605/Pilot%20Aussie%20and%20Brother%20Aussie.jpg

White Horse at Devizes - I am sure most of you will have seen this before:
http://members.lycos.co.uk/andyhardyuk/pprune/260605/White%20Horse%20at%20Devizes.jpg

Glastonbury festival - biggest greenfield festival in the world, apparently, taking up 90 acres - as seen through the clouds from FL040 (couldn't get lower due to the restriction over the area):
http://members.lycos.co.uk/andyhardyuk/pprune/260605/Glastonbury_1.jpg
http://members.lycos.co.uk/andyhardyuk/pprune/260605/Glastonbury_2.jpg

Aussie Brothers at Dunkeswell:
http://members.lycos.co.uk/andyhardyuk/pprune/260605/Aussie%20Brothers%20at%20Dunkeswell.jpg

Lyme Regis:
http://members.lycos.co.uk/andyhardyuk/pprune/260605/Lyme%20Regis.jpg

Happy Aussie Andy - just landed at Compton Abbas for the first, but certainly not the last, time!
http://members.lycos.co.uk/andyhardyuk/pprune/260605/Happy_Andy.jpg

Thanks to the guy in the red bi-plane! Wish'd I'd had a zoom lens...:
http://members.lycos.co.uk/andyhardyuk/pprune/260605/red_biplane.jpg

GPS track:
http://members.lycos.co.uk/andyhardyuk/pprune/260605/GPS_trk_Glastonbury_etc_260605.gif

Thanks for indluging me...!

Andy :ok:

[TheKentishFledgling]

Thanks to the guy in the red bi-plane! Wish'd I'd had a zoom lens...:

You didn't get lost on the way home did you, stik? ;)

tKF

[stiknruda]

No, tKf - I was still basking in the adulation when that foto was taken.

However - I do have a pretty good idea (80%) who it was!!

Stik

[Aussie Andy]

Stik:pretty good idea (80%) who it was!! Well, if it was ~18:00 local time on Sunday evening, just north-east of Thruxton, then get him to drop me a line so I can applaud the show and pass on our appreciation in person :)

Low'n'Slow - what terrible luck mate, really was a shame to miss a day like Sunday turned out to be... good luck with the repairs!

Andy :ok:

[TheKentishFledgling]

stik has kept quite quiet on his Sunday - he wasn't just spectating at Old Buck, he was also displaying himself.

I think I'm correct in saying that this was his first "airfield" display (not at Sheffield ;)) - well done stik, wish I could have been there!

tKF

[stiknruda]

tKf wrote he wasn't just spectating at Old Buck, he was also displaying himself

Ed - you make me sound like some raincoat wearing flasher!

(I'm not saying that I don't wear a raincoat in inclement weather........ nor am I saying that I don't have flashes of genius)

Yesterday was my first sponsored display as a DA holder.

And the crowd went wild ................ when Will Curtis and Denny Dobson flew!

Stik

OZ A - I'll make discrete enquiries and drop you a PM if I'm right!

(editted to spell discrete better second time around!)

[Bluebeard]

Ahhh, Sunday. One of the best day's flying I've ever had. Due to various bouts of illness I seem to have made increasingly shorter trips recently, so I vowed to spice up my life and go for some serious XCs. Sunday did indeed dawn grey and overcast for us Londoners, leading to much ummming and aahing over METARs, TAFs and metforms. Finally, the 1019 forecast came through - and it was a go.

Map and bits and bobs strewn across the floor, the decision was made to head west young man and bimble over to Shobdon. The decision was helped by the simplicity of the route - just two legs from N.Weald over the 115 miles or so.

Got to N.Weald and checked out the probably the best C152 in the world...maybe - G-BZWH - only to be confronted with ops on 31, complete with 5-7kt x-wind/tailwind and a hefty downslope along its not overly generous 650m length. Cue more umming and aahing and watching how everybody else was getting on. Despite one or two VERY close shaves, decided that being 1 up in a two seater gave me a decent margin, so off I went.

The early stages of the trip didn't give much cause for optimism...grey and overcast with some lumps and bumps, it wasn't great. And then, just beyond Oxford, the clouds parted in an almost biblical manner (no, that in that sense..:E ), the sun came out and blue skies appeared. Just like that - amazing. This allowed me to enjoy the Cotswolds in their true beauty, Moreton in the Marsh and the River Severn passing lazily by.

Further on, the Malverns beckoned (a place which I have fond memories of). Unfortunately my track took me directly over the HIRTA with its 4000' ceiling - after considering a detour, I remembered that I was no longer constricted by the ever-present controlled airspace which us Londoners have to contend with. Well, what the heck - I was quite close to the HIRTA, so cue a turning climb. Didn't really have a planned height - so I just kept going until I felt like it :ok: At about 5500 I levelled out to be faced with the most amazing sight I've ever seen since getting my PPL 4 years go - just above a clear inversion layer, I was floating above a sea of lightly scattered fluffy clouds ("fluffy" being a technical term, of course). Can't go on about it enough - anyone who is having a tough spell getting their PPL HAS to know that this kind of thing awaits them if they persevere.

After that it was barely less joyous - a long and leisurely descent into a sunny and friendly Shobdon. After a unexpectedly good fish and chips and a refuel for 'WH too, I was lucky to experience another sublime moment - a lull in the traffic when all that could be heard was birdsong across a golden expanse of immaculate grass.

A fine trip home, sadly with a little more haze and cloud, and even Luton had time to give me a FIS. Back to N.Weald and a 5kt tailwind still down the runway, but 30 deg of flap and a decently judged flare got me on the ground with a satisfying firmness in good time to avoid a drama.

Routine for some people. Childs play for others. For me, the immense satisfaction of a job well done and memories to treasure.:D

[TheKentishFledgling]

That was rather well worded, wasn't it :oh:

tKF

[stiknruda]

Bluebeard old chap,

Why did you accept the tailwind on your rejoin?

What was so imperative to NW Ops that they couldn't allow you to land in the right direction?

There is no way on earth that I'd land my little aeroplane with 5 up the chuff! If it all goes noisy and you end up upside down, having scored the tarmac with prop tips - guess who'll get blamed?

Stik

[Bluebeard]

Just to be specific...probably a poor use of the phrase 'down the runway'...it was pretty much as for t/o, pretty much a x-wind but occasionally heading chuffwards, to coin a phrase.

Not sure why the reciprocal wasn't in use...I'm guessing the upslope, whilst good for landing, cancels out any advantage gained by avoiding what tailwind component was present on t/o.

[Aussie Andy]

Bluebeard, old bean, thanks! I really enjoyed your write-up; exactly the spirit of "this is why we do this flying thing" I was feeling myself :O


Andy :ok:

[LowNSlow]

Bluebeard a nicely written account of "why I fly". Hope whatever it is that has been reducing your flying times goes away soon.

Andy wingtip fixed yesterday, fair bit of inspection of wing mountings and spar followed by a little bit of repair work. All ready for FFF on Saturday now!

[stillin1]

As the Old Buck day was brought up - large thanks to the team there, had a great day out. Sort of an airshow in the "heartbeat" theme. really enjoyed meself:ok:

[Cusco]

Sorry I missed Old Buck, my a/c was weathered in in Caen and driving in just ain't the same.

Will Curtis taught me to fly when he was a stripling AFI at Ipswich School of Flying (RIP) in early 90s.

Often wondered where he'd got to after that.

Anyone got any details?

[stiknruda]

I can probably dig out an e-address for Will for you Cusco! It's buried amongst all the other detritus in my flying suit!

Will revert after I come back from overseas in a week or so!

Stik

[bletchleytugie]

It certainly was, I didn't get airborne until after lunch due to other commitments. My reward for arriving late - 2 spinning trips and converting a young lady from two seat to single gliders.

The pay back - 5 very pleasant trips between Bicester and Thame towing gliders back towards Booker after they had fallen out late in the afternoon, must see if we can get the sun to set somewhere else in the sky flying west was an absolute...............

[skua]

Andy

Thanks for showing us who has got all the good looks in your family :-) Are the cakes at Compton still as good as I remember them?

I had moderate fun at the weekend….

Planned to fly up to Yorkshire on Friday evening. The TAF’s and F214&5 indicated that the CB’s would be well spread out, and that vis would be OK between them. Or perhaps that was just my overoptimistic interpretation! I had already decided to go the “Eastern route” (from Rochester) to avoid being funnelled into that dangerous piece of low airpsace NW of North Weald in crappy weather. But looking at the actuals up the East Midlands during the afternoon, there were too many OVC 003 for my liking. My mind was made up when I used that most scientific method at 1500: I looked out through the grime of the office window at a resolutely dark and threatening sky, and called it off.

The 18hr TAF’s indicated that Saturday morning mist would clear 8-11. This gave ample time to watch 2 Kiwi’s attempt to paralyse an Irishman (perhaps best to gloss over that AA !). We drifted down to EGTO for 1115 to find its customary halo of murk sitting on the hill. Actuals indicated better conditions in at least the northern part of East Anglia. So we sallied forth at 1200. Into the clag at 500’ and over to Southend Approach ASAP for a radar service. Unsurprisingly the skies were quiet. Plenty of time to contemplate the moisture dousing the Robin, wondering whether carb ice conditions were rife. A quick call to Earls Colne revealed them to be as quiet as a Belgian comedy club.

After Southend, better trust ourselves to the USAF, so over to Lakenheath “Rargersquakthreefaaaaavwanfoweridentsayyourinetntions” or something like that. I had forgotten their speed of delivery. By this time we were in & out between layers at 4500’. A PA32 cruised overhead at FL110 en route Newcastle – Guernsey. By Ely conditions improved and we began to enjoy life. FL 065 in bright sun shine with solid stuff well below. The sun is always sweeter when you have left ground-bound greyness.

Waddington looked after us with their customary professionalism, and almost all their traffic was clearly below the scud. They gave us a very sudden handover to Doncaster Sheffield (where did the Sheffield bit come from?) for de-confliction. We saw the traffic straightaway - a Ryanair 737 turning sharply and descending into the clouds for an NDB approach. Apparently they are getting radar this week, to much relief no doubt. Can’t imagine that Ryanair, Tui? and the rest are very happy about spending so much time in Class G. Want to bet that some sort of TMA mushrooms over time?

Time for a descent into Sherburn, and the Tykes are clearly made of stern stuff, because the circuit was pretty busy despite the shoddy weather.

The return on Sunday was delayed to maximise the delights of the Yorkshire dales. I had thought a 1700 departure would enable us to see some interesting traffic returning from displays around the country. But it was all very calm. Even Doncaster Sheffield had no traffic as we passed over at 55 (he claimed it would get busier at 1900). Great viz over to the Lincolnshire coast and the Wash. A blissful evening, so much better than the A1 or M1 option. Slipped past Southend to a somnolent Rochester. Job done.

Skua

[Aussie Andy]

G'day skua, excellent posting - enjoyed reading it! No offence taken, I can easily admit that my brother is better looking (and nine years younger!) than me :O ! We didn't have time for a cake at Compton, but the applie pie at Dunkeswell was fair.

I'm not yet as comfortable im IMC as it seems you are - I look forward to the day when I will feel I have the experience and skills to set off "into the clag at 500’" - for now I content myself with occasionally flying up through a very thin cloud layer, and I have just reminded myself that I must book an hour or two with an instrument instructor to practice some approaches as I already fear how much those skills may have deteriorated in the few months since I did the IMC rating!

Cheers!


Andy :ok: