First Fly-in

[KandiFloss]

Hello Ppruners,


I am hoping to attend my first fly-in later this month, at Hucknall, Nottinghamshire.


I would be grateful for any advice, especially from people who have attended fly-ins themselves. I have heard that at some fly-ins, you are given a time to arrive, I guess to stop loads of aircraft arriving at the same time? Even so, I imagine that it can be a bit manic?


Thank you :-)

[thing]

Hi Kandi, you are getting to Hucknall just in time, it shuts in March!

If I'm attending a fly in/air display or whatever I always try and be one of the first there for two reasons, you can make the most of the day and you avoid any clogging up of the circuit. Some fly ins have slot times, Old Warden and Duxford spring to mind but they are quite professionally done. Others it's just a case of turn up.

Do be careful, most pilots know how to do an overhead join (if that's what is required on the day) but there are a handful who will just barge in any old where because the sky belongs to them and you shouldn't have the audacity to get in their way.

[KandiFloss]

Hi Thing, thanks for your reply. I know that Hucknall closes the last weekend of february, and that's why I want to get to it. I'm from Nottingham originally, and so it would mean a lot to me to get to it. I am happy with overhead joins, but, as you say, it's having to deal with other pilots who arrogantly barge their way in.

[Rod1]

"it's having to deal with other pilots who arrogantly barge their way in."

Not very common in my experience. Try to get in early and keep a good lookout. You may find you get in the way of someone because you did not see them, but this is normally taken in good hart rather than being considered arrogance. What do you fly? I am hoping to make the same flyin.

Rod1

[KandiFloss]

Hi Rod, sure, I know that people make mistakes, and I will always try to help someone out if they genuinely have made a mistake.


Most likely to be a Tecnam P2002. How about you, where are you flying in from? It's quite nice that the fly-in is running over two days. I'm hoping to get to it on the sunday though. I was hoping to stay to see the fireworks in the evening, as i'm hoping to do my night rating in the next couple of weeks. However, hubby thinks that it's too risky flying at night, so I may have to just make it a day trip :-(

[Rod1]

I will probably fly in on the Saturday - will be an MCR or a Jodel.

Rod1

[Jan Olieslagers]

Kandi,

If UK pilots are more or less comparable to their continental counterparts* then you shouldn't worry too much. Yes, there are cowboys in the skies, as there are everywhere, but good air(wo)manship and able radio operators should serve you well.

You might perhaps wish to inquire about the calmest moments to arrive - R/T of a busy circuit can be overwhelming to a newbie - ask me how I know!

Go for it! Plan well ahead, gain advice as you can then sort and filter it, and boldly fly in.

Enjoy! And if your ambitions go higher aloft/further away, remember the mid-August fly in at EBDT Schaffen!

*the rules of the air being so very different between the uk and the continent, I have some doubts there. But sooner or later, any pilot consistently playing the smart-ass will be outwitted by sheer gravity and other elementary laws of physics - Darwin's laws at work! So be at ease, if you fly all right you will be all right.

[Mark 1]

Kandi,

Call them up on 130.8 and join as you would at any airfield. Stick to the taxy ways and follow the marshallers if they are out.

Then wallow in the nostalgia of a last chance to visit a 99 year old airfield where Rolls-Royce tested the vertical take off rig, first flew the P51 with the Merlin, Von Werra tried to steal an aircraft to escape to Germany and much other aviation history was enacted.

I'm sure you will have a very warm welcome and I wish I could be there to join you.

[KandiFloss]

Jan Olieslagers - hello buddy! It is a good suggestion of yours to try to find out what time would be the quietest time to arrive ... thank you :-) . What happened when you felt overwhelmed by R/T in the busy circuit? (Maybe PM me, if you don't want to say in front of Pprune head shakers?!)I have had something similar once, it was difficult to get a word in edgeways, and the circuit was so busy that it was overwhelming, I just reminded myself to keep focusing on flying the a/c, my position in the overhead and then circuit, and not worrying about other people coming in after me.


Bless you, thank you for offering me confidence :-)


Thanks for sending me info about the Schaffen fly-in, unfortunately that's a bit far for me, my flying piggy bank fund won't get me there :-( ... but, i'll keep doing the lottery ... and maybe!


Mark1 - thank you for your advice :-), sounds like a great airfield, I didn't know that it had so much history? I remember there used to be a pub next to the airfield called 'The Flying Bedstead' after the testing that was done there. When I was younger, I used to ride my pony around the edge of the airfield, and into the country park next door for a good gallop! It will be very different sort of 'horse power' for me this time! It sounds as though you want to get there yourself? It's a shame that you won't be able to attend.

[Jan Olieslagers]

What happened when you felt overwhelmed by R/T in the busy circuit?

It has never happened on me, yet - I am not one easily overwhelmed, at least not verbally - but I couldn't help smilingly remembering the old adage about the fearsome situation of an engine out when flying at night: "switch on the landing light, see where to find a suitable field. If you don't like what you see, switch off the light again".

Mutatis mutandis: aviate navigate communicate. When (for whatever reason) unable to communicate, continue as planned and as announced, aviate and navigate and be bold yet careful. You will never cause much of a panic by discontinuing communication yet flying as expected - if you change behaviour without telling anyone there might be solid confusion, at least.

Most fly-ins are in class G airspace anyway (at least over here - you really ought to come and get your share!) so you can never be at fault for not coming on the frequency. There might be some frowns, though... but we all get our part of those.

[Flyingmac]

XX radio. G-xxxx is a PA28 inbound to you from the Southwest. Four POB. Currently twelve miles to run. 2,500ft on 1015. Requesting airfield information. :=


G-XX downwind.:ok:


That's assuming you have all the information you need just by listening.

[KandiFloss]

Flying Mac - thank you for putting it so succinctly :-) ... I thought you were telling me off with the wagging finger initially :-O !


Rod1 - MRC ... microlight?

[150 Driver]

Best advice is to do it and enjoy it without worrying about the fact it is a fly in, just a busy aerodrome.

One of my early post PPL flights was along the south coast and into Shoreham. The day was gorgeous blue sky, benign conditions, the world and her husband seemed to be flying.

I wasn't familiar with flying down there then, Shoreham sounded a bit like what I imagined Heathrow to be (!), I joined the circuit as (I recall) number 5 and was scanning like crazy, trying my best to do what I should. When number one ('turn final, tight as you can, cleared to land') I completely screwed the approach and elected for a go around - I sensed the resignation from the controller but he kept professional and I nailed it second time around (four others in the circuit this time).

I thought it must be normal to be this busy until I saw the adverts posted around the terminal building about a Valentine's fly in :ugh:

If I'd known it was happening I either wouldn't have gone near or if I had I would have been scared witless about messing up on the whole journey. However, without the pre-worry this was an innocent but useful dollop into the Experience bucket, probably at the cost of a scoop out of the luck pot.

[Rod1]

"Rod1 - MRC ... microlight? "

Mine is an MCR01 Club which is Group A/SEP. There is a micro version which is similar.

Rod1

[ericferret]

Can someone confirm the dates as they don't appear on the website.

I was born in Hucknall close to the airfield and remember getting sent home from school because the noise from the test stand could not be taught over . I also remember lying on my bed with a pillow over my head trying to cut the noise out. The end result of this was a 40 year career in aviation!!!!!!!

As children we would walk all the way to the far side of the airfield where the club was located. Took us about an hour. In those days most of the flying was done in Austers G-AIPH and AIJT.

The thought that all this is going under houses breaks my heart. The destruction of the English countryside for housing driven by excessive immigration is an appalling consequence
of failed government policies. Worth remembering that the population of this country was predicted to top out at about 50 million now we are heading towards 70m. I despair.

[Mark 1]

Can someone confirm the dates as they don't appear on the website.

The fly-in is 28/2 and 1/3 and there will be a catering van there through the weekend and camping on the field (limited facilities). Officially the Sunday is the last day of flying from Hucknall.

[ericferret]

Blimey, camping on a UK airfield at end of Feb begining of March.
Talk about ships of oak and men of iron.
This is going to be aeroplanes of wood and fabric (and aluminium) and men and women of iron.
Still pray for good weather and give Hucknall a great send off.
One year short of it's 100th birthday.

One thing I didn't know about Hucknall till recently was that the mile and a quarter runway was built long after the war, probably in the mid fifties. As a child I was always baffled when told how the Luftwaffe searched for Hucknall airfield but failed to find it and bomb it. How could they miss that huge runway?
Now I know, it wasn't there!!!.

I remember the assymetric Vickers VC10 conversion carried out there with two Conways being opposed by a single RB211.

Hucknall was also the graveyard for most of the RAF's Short Belfast transports.
They were flown in for recovery of the engines and then scrapped on site.

I think the last major project at Hucknall was to do with re-engineing the Phantom with Rolls Royce Spey engines.

It was always Royces not Rolls.

[KandiFloss]

ericferret - 'As children we would walk all the way to the far side of the airfield where the club was located. Took us about an hour. In those days most of the flying was done in Austers G-AIPH and AIJT' ... awww ... someone's reminiscing?! I know what you mean though. I remember my mum once taking me to East Midlands to go 'aeroplane spotting' (which would have been exciting enough!) but she told me that we were going on holiday. We flew with Britannia airlines (giving my age away now!) and I remember getting a little aviation log book onboard which the Captain filled in for me ... which I thought was awesome!

'The thought that all this is going under houses breaks my heart. The destruction of the English countryside for housing driven by excessive immigration is an appalling consequence
of failed government policies. Worth remembering that the population of this country was predicted to top out at about 50 million now we are heading towards 70m. I despair.' ... I share your pain. I fly from Sleap, and a few years ago we were worried that Hanson were going to turf up the runway, luckily they left us alone. Hopefully they won't come back for another go.


I would be camping, but I can't stay over night :-( . Hot water bottle/Duvet/Brandy = keeps the cold sorted!


Are you going?

[Mark 1]

Hucknall was also the graveyard for most of the RAF's Short Belfast transports
This could get moved to nostalgia if we're not careful.

I remember the Belfasts well. Aeritalia had an order to supply G222s to the Libyan Air Force, but the US wouldn't supply GE engines (they may have had a point). So the Tynes were stripped off the Belfasts, overhauled and put on the G222s. The rest of them got scrapped although Keith Sisson's Heavylift had a few that were used as support in the Falklands conflict.

[ericferret]

I hope we will fly in but knowing the weather this time of year it will be a toss of the coin.
If we stay overnight we will have to rough it at mums house!!!!