What a wonderful day for flying!!!
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What a wonderful day for flying!!!
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
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
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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
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
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
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
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Sunday - OB Airshow
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
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
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Pics
So I will indulge myself by boring you all with some of my pics 
!!
Pilot Aussie and Brother Aussie - about to start G-ODAK at Wycombe... "where are those bl**dy keys then!?":
White Horse at Devizes - I am sure most of you will have seen this before:
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):
Aussie Brothers at Dunkeswell:
Lyme Regis:
Happy Aussie Andy - just landed at Compton Abbas for the first, but certainly not the last, time!
Thanks to the guy in the red bi-plane! Wish'd I'd had a zoom lens...:
GPS track:
Thanks for indluging me...!
Andy
!!Pilot Aussie and Brother Aussie - about to start G-ODAK at Wycombe... "where are those bl**dy keys then!?":
White Horse at Devizes - I am sure most of you will have seen this before:
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):
Aussie Brothers at Dunkeswell:
Lyme Regis:
Happy Aussie Andy - just landed at Compton Abbas for the first, but certainly not the last, time!
Thanks to the guy in the red bi-plane! Wish'd I'd had a zoom lens...:
GPS track:
Thanks for indluging me...!
Andy
Last edited by Aussie Andy; 27th Jun 2005 at 14:40.
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Stik:
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
pretty good idea (80%) who it was!!
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
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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
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
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tKf wrote
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!)
he wasn't just spectating at Old Buck, he was also displaying himself
(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!)
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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..
), 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 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.
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..
), 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
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.
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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
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
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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.
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.
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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
Andy
Andy
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!
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!
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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?
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?
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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
Will revert after I come back from overseas in a week or so!
Stik