JetRanger around the UK
PPRuNe Enigma
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Keep 'em coming, guys ! Looks like I might have to plan another trip... Barra to the top of Ben Nevis eh ? Well, at least it would be less distance than the last one !
THURSDAY 7th JULY
After a really good night's sleep I wake up looking forward to the day's flying. There is an overcast and some rain, but it looks as though it should clear, so I call a taxi to take me in to the airfield.
The taxi driver has the radio on in the background. I can vaguely make out something about delays and problems on the underground. Initially that doesn't seem anything out of the ordinary, but it soon becomes clear that something serious is going on. When I get to the airfield, people are clustered around a television - there have been a number of explosions in central London. At this stage it isn't clear exactly what has happened but it's fairly obvious that this is a serious incident. Suddenly, having to wait around for a few hours for weather to clear seems a very trivial problem indeed.
Information is scarce. I wouldn't be surprised if airspace restrictions were put in place, but so far no-one really knows what's going on. Although I did plan possibly to meet up with one or two people here I decide that as soon as I can get away I had best head away from the London area.
It's about lunchtime before the weather brightens enough. Everyone here is very busy trying to cope with a flood of enquiries in an uncertain situation - people wanting to know if their flights would still be going ahead and so on. Best if I get out of their hair. There is a bit of confusion over refuelling, but I have enough to get to my next stop, so rather than muck about and get in people's way I blast off and get going.
Wycombe tower still have no news of any airspace restrictions, but I figure that London will be busy with EMS and police so I route clear of controlled airspace and take a service from London Information. No problem - I follow roughly along the M25 and into North Weald from the south.
North Weald is another of my favourite places from when I used to fly from Denham - I often used to drop in to the Squadron for a rock cake and a cup of tea. This time, a very friendly guy in a battered old army truck fills me up with 210 litres of fuel, and I head off for my cup of tea. I chat to a very nice couple who are doing some microlight touring. They seem really interested in the trip so I give them a little guided tour around the helicopter and tell them all about my adventures so far. North Weald seems so quite and peaceful and here we are, three enthusiasts talking about flying. It all seems a million miles from what must be happening back in London. A very strange feeling indeed.
I lift and say goodbye to North Weald. Sorry I didn't catch you this time, AB - gather you weren't on duty that day. Maybe next time !
Now I'm moving away from familiar territory again. Destination for tonight is Norwich and a rendezvous with Whirlygig for some flying tomorrow. A slight dog-leg via Cheltenham to keep clear of Stansted zone, and I sign on with Wattisham. Colchester and Ipswich make good waypoints and just under an hour later I'm inbound to Norwich. It's another large airport with lots of commercial traffic, but once again first Norwich Approach then Norwich Tower give me very clear and easy to follow instructions and route me to my overnight parking spot.
I'm at the main passenger terminal so have to wait for a little bus to take me across the taxiway to the building. I sign in and then go through the same arrivals hall as the regular passengers - past the luggage belts and everything. No doubt there will be the reverse procedure tomorrow to get back out to the pad.
THURSDAY 7th JULY
After a really good night's sleep I wake up looking forward to the day's flying. There is an overcast and some rain, but it looks as though it should clear, so I call a taxi to take me in to the airfield.
The taxi driver has the radio on in the background. I can vaguely make out something about delays and problems on the underground. Initially that doesn't seem anything out of the ordinary, but it soon becomes clear that something serious is going on. When I get to the airfield, people are clustered around a television - there have been a number of explosions in central London. At this stage it isn't clear exactly what has happened but it's fairly obvious that this is a serious incident. Suddenly, having to wait around for a few hours for weather to clear seems a very trivial problem indeed.
Information is scarce. I wouldn't be surprised if airspace restrictions were put in place, but so far no-one really knows what's going on. Although I did plan possibly to meet up with one or two people here I decide that as soon as I can get away I had best head away from the London area.
It's about lunchtime before the weather brightens enough. Everyone here is very busy trying to cope with a flood of enquiries in an uncertain situation - people wanting to know if their flights would still be going ahead and so on. Best if I get out of their hair. There is a bit of confusion over refuelling, but I have enough to get to my next stop, so rather than muck about and get in people's way I blast off and get going.
Wycombe tower still have no news of any airspace restrictions, but I figure that London will be busy with EMS and police so I route clear of controlled airspace and take a service from London Information. No problem - I follow roughly along the M25 and into North Weald from the south.
North Weald is another of my favourite places from when I used to fly from Denham - I often used to drop in to the Squadron for a rock cake and a cup of tea. This time, a very friendly guy in a battered old army truck fills me up with 210 litres of fuel, and I head off for my cup of tea. I chat to a very nice couple who are doing some microlight touring. They seem really interested in the trip so I give them a little guided tour around the helicopter and tell them all about my adventures so far. North Weald seems so quite and peaceful and here we are, three enthusiasts talking about flying. It all seems a million miles from what must be happening back in London. A very strange feeling indeed.
I lift and say goodbye to North Weald. Sorry I didn't catch you this time, AB - gather you weren't on duty that day. Maybe next time !
Now I'm moving away from familiar territory again. Destination for tonight is Norwich and a rendezvous with Whirlygig for some flying tomorrow. A slight dog-leg via Cheltenham to keep clear of Stansted zone, and I sign on with Wattisham. Colchester and Ipswich make good waypoints and just under an hour later I'm inbound to Norwich. It's another large airport with lots of commercial traffic, but once again first Norwich Approach then Norwich Tower give me very clear and easy to follow instructions and route me to my overnight parking spot.
I'm at the main passenger terminal so have to wait for a little bus to take me across the taxiway to the building. I sign in and then go through the same arrivals hall as the regular passengers - past the luggage belts and everything. No doubt there will be the reverse procedure tomorrow to get back out to the pad.
Hovering AND talking
Join Date: Feb 2003
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A slight dog-leg via Cheltenham to keep clear of Stansted zone
Keep the diary coming; great to read!
Cheers
Whirlygig
PPRuNe Enigma
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FRIDAY 8th JULY
I seem to be following the bad weather around the country. Friday dawns grey, wet and drizzling. I meet WG and we decide to go and check the aircraft out anyway. To get back out to the pad we have to go through security with all the regular passengers and then be escorted through to the ops room for booking out. Norwich ATIS is giving 700 to 800 feet, gradually improving so we figure a local flight out to the coast.
Oh goody - another check 'A' in the rain. Worst bit is the fuel drain - it's right underneath so you have to lie on your back and try not to get the fuel running down your arm. Having a puddle to lie in just makes it even more fun.
There's a couple of Jaguars blatting around this monring so we decide to keep clear of Coltishall zone. We lift to the west and then turn north for the coast. We sign off from Norwich and call Coltishall for an FIS:
"screech gargle gargle howl howl QNH gargle howl screech Squawk gargle gargle"
I manage to decipher the pressure setting and transponder code and WG informs me that they are sounding much clearer than usual. Oh good. I give Coltishall a position report and inform them that we'll be keeping outside their zone and all is well.
Although we can't get much above 700 feet it's actually turning out to be a really nice day - the sun is trying to break through and we just have to dodge the odd wisp of lower cloud as we head along the coast from Cromer towards Sheringham, where we transfer to Marham and a much clearer RT connection. At Blakeney Point we spot some seals basking on an island - what a great day out - flying and a nature trip combined !
Marham help us to negotiate some worse weather as we head back to Norwich and it's time for lunch and another refuel before I set off on my own again.
By around 1pm it looks as though the day has brightened up as much as it is going to. Apparently it's a beautiful day everywhere except here. I need to be heading north again now so I creep out under the overcast as far as King's Lynn and as I head towards Grantham I emerge suddenly into glorious sunshine. It's great to climb again! Cranwell then Waddington provide me with a service as I route past Retford/Gamston, then Doncaster and into a very busy Sherburn-in-Elmet.
I seem to be following the bad weather around the country. Friday dawns grey, wet and drizzling. I meet WG and we decide to go and check the aircraft out anyway. To get back out to the pad we have to go through security with all the regular passengers and then be escorted through to the ops room for booking out. Norwich ATIS is giving 700 to 800 feet, gradually improving so we figure a local flight out to the coast.
Oh goody - another check 'A' in the rain. Worst bit is the fuel drain - it's right underneath so you have to lie on your back and try not to get the fuel running down your arm. Having a puddle to lie in just makes it even more fun.
There's a couple of Jaguars blatting around this monring so we decide to keep clear of Coltishall zone. We lift to the west and then turn north for the coast. We sign off from Norwich and call Coltishall for an FIS:
"screech gargle gargle howl howl QNH gargle howl screech Squawk gargle gargle"
I manage to decipher the pressure setting and transponder code and WG informs me that they are sounding much clearer than usual. Oh good. I give Coltishall a position report and inform them that we'll be keeping outside their zone and all is well.
Although we can't get much above 700 feet it's actually turning out to be a really nice day - the sun is trying to break through and we just have to dodge the odd wisp of lower cloud as we head along the coast from Cromer towards Sheringham, where we transfer to Marham and a much clearer RT connection. At Blakeney Point we spot some seals basking on an island - what a great day out - flying and a nature trip combined !
Marham help us to negotiate some worse weather as we head back to Norwich and it's time for lunch and another refuel before I set off on my own again.
By around 1pm it looks as though the day has brightened up as much as it is going to. Apparently it's a beautiful day everywhere except here. I need to be heading north again now so I creep out under the overcast as far as King's Lynn and as I head towards Grantham I emerge suddenly into glorious sunshine. It's great to climb again! Cranwell then Waddington provide me with a service as I route past Retford/Gamston, then Doncaster and into a very busy Sherburn-in-Elmet.
PPRuNe Enigma
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FRIDAY 8th JULY cont...
It had been my intention to stop off at Sherburn for the night and set off home early on Saturday morning, but the high pressure is really settling in now and it's turning into such a gorgeous evening with scarcely a cloud in the sky that I just want to keep going.
I reckon that if I route direct I can get back to Cumbernauld in two hours. Another cup of tea in the bar and a few minutes with chart and pen confirms this. A quick call to Cumbernauld confirms that someone will still be there until at least 19:00 and I'm on my way again. Having flown three hours already today (some of that in grotty weather this morning), I should be tired, but I'm not. The air is clear and still and I'm really happy to be back up in the sky.
It's after five and most of the military units are closed, so I take a service from Leeds Bradford and head out across the Yorkshire dales and some of the most stunning scenery of the whole trip. Mile after mile of rolling hills, valleys and tiny villages tucked away amongst the crisscross pattern of drystone walls. As the ground rises I climb up to 2500 feet and settle back to enjoy the view.
Through the overhead at Carlisle, and soon I'm back in Scotland. No need to follow the M74 this time - from 3000 feet I can practically see Shotts mast from here, so I route direct over the hills.
There's something about flying on a summer evening when the air is so still and clear - a splendid sense of tranquillity and isolation. What a perfect way to fly this last-but-one leg back home.
Back at Cumbernauld, the guys help me tuck GAND into the hangar, safe for the weekend.
This has been the longest day of the trip - a total of five hours flown - but also one of the most satisfying.
MONDAY 11th JULY
It's with slightly mixed feelings that I fly the short hop back to Aberdeen on Monday morning to give the JetRanger back. I'm determined to enjoy our last hour together, but sad to have to part company.
The train ride back home gives me time to reflect on what I've achieved. In total I've flown nearly twenty four hours, been around a large part of the UK, and met some wonderful, helpful and interesting people along the way.
It's been one of the best adventures of my life. I wonder when I'll get the chance again ?
It had been my intention to stop off at Sherburn for the night and set off home early on Saturday morning, but the high pressure is really settling in now and it's turning into such a gorgeous evening with scarcely a cloud in the sky that I just want to keep going.
I reckon that if I route direct I can get back to Cumbernauld in two hours. Another cup of tea in the bar and a few minutes with chart and pen confirms this. A quick call to Cumbernauld confirms that someone will still be there until at least 19:00 and I'm on my way again. Having flown three hours already today (some of that in grotty weather this morning), I should be tired, but I'm not. The air is clear and still and I'm really happy to be back up in the sky.
It's after five and most of the military units are closed, so I take a service from Leeds Bradford and head out across the Yorkshire dales and some of the most stunning scenery of the whole trip. Mile after mile of rolling hills, valleys and tiny villages tucked away amongst the crisscross pattern of drystone walls. As the ground rises I climb up to 2500 feet and settle back to enjoy the view.
Through the overhead at Carlisle, and soon I'm back in Scotland. No need to follow the M74 this time - from 3000 feet I can practically see Shotts mast from here, so I route direct over the hills.
There's something about flying on a summer evening when the air is so still and clear - a splendid sense of tranquillity and isolation. What a perfect way to fly this last-but-one leg back home.
Back at Cumbernauld, the guys help me tuck GAND into the hangar, safe for the weekend.
This has been the longest day of the trip - a total of five hours flown - but also one of the most satisfying.
MONDAY 11th JULY
It's with slightly mixed feelings that I fly the short hop back to Aberdeen on Monday morning to give the JetRanger back. I'm determined to enjoy our last hour together, but sad to have to part company.
The train ride back home gives me time to reflect on what I've achieved. In total I've flown nearly twenty four hours, been around a large part of the UK, and met some wonderful, helpful and interesting people along the way.
It's been one of the best adventures of my life. I wonder when I'll get the chance again ?
Thanks
